16. The Downward Spiral

"Hey!" Aria yelled, gaining the bartender's attention, "Are you bloody deaf?! I've been calling for you so long, I need more alcohol".

"I think you and your friend have had enough" the bartender said, looking between Aria and Caroline, who had also turned her humanity off.

"Look at our faces, this is us straining to care less about what you think" Caroline said, she pretended to strain her face but quickly gave up, "Nope, I can't do it, can you Aria?".

"Nope" Aria said simply.

"Okay, I'm gonna call you two a cab".

"Hey" Aria snapped, grabbing the bartender's wrist, "Our mom just died, we just put her dead, cancer riddled body into the ground".

"Exactly four hours and thirty two minutes ago" Caroline added.

Aria nodded at Caroline, "I'm so sorry for you loss" the bartender apologised.

"Oh don't be, we don't care anymore" Aria said, "What we care about is our feet that have been crammed into very uncomfortable heels for the whole day and the only thing that can help our feet better is tequila so pass us a bottle and get lost".

The bartender sighed, "Fine" he said, finally giving in, "I'll grab you two another drink".

"Thank you" Caroline said.

"Aria?" A confused Noah said, walking over to the two sisters.

"Ugh, no" Caroline said, walking away from Aria after seeing Noah.

"Noah" Aria greeted.

"What are you doing here?" Noah asked.

"Getting drunk, duh" Aria replied.

"Today?" Noah asked shocked.

"Yeah today" Aria replied, "Why wouldn't I get drunk today?".

"Today was your mother's funeral" Noah reminded.

"And?" Aria asked, downing a shot of tequila.

"You've turned it off" Noah suddenly realised.

"Congratulations, you figured it out" Aria said sarcastically.

"Things just got really interesting" Noah mumbled.

"Can you leave?" Aria asked, "I am no mood for company".

Noah smirked, "Don't tell me even humanity less Aria Connor is tied up to Damon Salvatore".

"Oh, please" Aria said, "This Aria, ain't tied up to anyone".

"Really?" Noah asked, "Prove it".

Aria looked at Noah, "No thanks" she simply said, "The only thing I'm interested in tonight is getting wasted, nothing else".

Noah tucked a strand of hair behind Aria's ear, "Is that so?".

Before Aria could say anything, Noah was suddenly shoved away from her.

"Stay away from her, Noah" Damon warned, standing between Aria and Noah.

Seeing Damon, Aria rolled her eyes in annoyance, she tried to leave but Damon already sensed that causing him to grab her wrist.

"Stay put" Damon warned the tribrid.

"Don't tell me what to do" Aria snapped.

Damon ignored Aria and turned to a smug looking Noah, "What's wrong, Damon?" Noah asked, "I was just being a good friend".

"Well go be a good friend to someone else, Ria doesn't need you, she has me" Damon said.

Noah smirked, "Fine" he said, "I'll leave, for now".

Damon glared at Noah, "Forever" he snapped.

"Oh come on Damon, it's only fair I take Aria from you, the way you took Natalie away from me" Noah said.

"I didn't take Natalie away from you, your own actions took her away from you" Damon snapped.

"Oooo, drama" Aria sing songed, downing another shot, making both the boys glare at her, which in turn made her give them a mock smile.

"Come on, we're leaving" Damon told Aria.

"Uh, no" Aria said, "You're leaving, I'm getting drunk".

"Ria, I am in no mood to argue with you, get your ass up, we're leaving" Damon stated.

"Let me think" Aria said, "How about? No".

Damon took a deep breath, without warning, he grabbed Aria and pulled her out of the chair and then swang her over his shoulder.

"Hey!" Aria complained.

"Shut up, Aria" Damon said, carrying Aria out of the bar, ignoring Aria's hits on his back.

"You are being barbaric!" Aria yelled.

"Thank you" Damon simply said.

***

"God, what is your problem?!" Aria yelled, as Damon pushed her on to the bed.

"Don't" Damon warned, "Don't you dare get up from that bed".

"Okay, what the hell is your problem?!" Aria asked, "First you tell me to turn my humanity off, and when I do you refuse to let me have fun!".

"I'm all for you having fun Ria, but before you do that we need to set some rules" Damon said.

Aria scoffed, "I'm not listening to any of your rules, I'm not a damn child".

"Right now, you're sure acting like one" Damon said.

"Okay, I don't have time for this" Aria said, getting up from the bed.

Before Aria could leave the room, Damon grabbed her wrist and pulled her into his chest, "Stay away from him" he warned.

"Who?" Aria asked confused.

"Noah" Damon replied, "Stay away from him, Ria".

Aria smirked, "Are you jealous?" she asked, "You know, thanks for telling me that, now I'm going to make it my mission to get close to him, maybe then you'll leave me alone".

Damon pulled Aria closer to him, leaving no space between the two, "I am not joking about this, Ria" he said, "Stay the hell away from Noah, he isn't what you think he is, he's playing a very dirty game".

"And why would he play a game with me?" Aria asked.

"He's not playing a game with you, he's playing a game with me" Damon replied, "He wants to get to me, by getting to you, which is now all of a sudden very easy with you having no emotions".

"Hmm, I mean, he is hot" Aria said, "I don't really see a bad side of him getting close to me".

Damon looked at Aria for a second, and after a moment, he let go of Aria and took a step back from her, a smirk forming on his face.

"Go ahead then" Damon said, "Go get close to Noah".

Aria looked at Damon in confusion, "Are you sure you aren't bipolar?" she asked, "One second you're warning me to stay away from Noah and the next you're telling me to get closer to him?".

"I'm telling you to get closer to Noah because I know you don't have it in you to get closer to him" Damon replied.

Aria crossed her arms infront of her chest and glared at Damon, "Is that so?" she asked.

"Yeap" Damon replied.

"Okay" Aria said, "Damon Salvatore, now you're going to watch me get closer to Noah, while you sit here changing diapers".

Damon smirked, "We'll see".

"Your cockiness is going to get you hurt" Aria warned.

"Can't wait" Damon said, loving riling Aria up.

"You--".

"Damon".

Aria turned and saw Kol entering the room.

"Oh look, it's your boyfriend" Aria told Damon.

"Seriously?" Kol asked.

"That's Caroline's line" Aria replied, "Now excuse me, I've got people to get close to".

Aria walked out of the room, leaving Kol and Damon alone.

"What was that about?" Kol asked.

"Turns out, no humanity Ria loves to get on people's nerves" Damon replied.

"Lovely" Kol mumbled.

"So, did you do it?" Damon asked.

"Do you mean did I dig up your mother's coffin?" Kol asked, "Then yes, I did".

"And?" Damon asked, slightly afraid of Kol's answer.

Kol sighed, "Damon, your mother's coffin was empty, which means the women Bonnie saw is most likely your mother, she's--".

"She's been alive this whole time" Damon finished, anger evident in his eyes.

***

Aria was walking in the streets of Mystic Falls, happily eating her curly fries when suddenly her phone started ringing.

"The person you're trying to currently get in touch with, as no desire to talk to you" Aria said after answering her phone.

"Ouch, Aria" Noah said, "And here I thought we were on our way to being best friends".

"I already have too many unwanted relationships, I don't wanna add another one to it" Aria said.

"Fair enough" Noah said, "Hey, so are you free tonight?".

"I don't know yet" Aria replied.

"Well, if you are free there is a party happening at a warehouse tonight, you should come, bring Caroline along if you want" Noah said.

Aria smirked, "A warehouse full of humans, huh?".

"Yeap" Noah replied, "Perfect place for hungry vampires".

"Hmm" Aria said, "I'll be there".

"Great" Noah said, "See you there then".

***

"Now this is a party" Caroline said, as her and Aria entered the rave party together.

"Let's hit the dance floor!" Aria yelled over the music.

Caroline nodded and with that the two sisters walked towards the dance floor and started dancing the night away.

As Aria was dancing, a hand was suddenly wrapped around her waist and she was pulled against a hard body.

"Hey" Noah whispered into Aria's ear.

Aria rolled her eyes and pushed Noah off of her, "Hands off" she snapped.

Noah put his hands up in surrender, "I was just dancing" he defended.

"You know, the Noah I first met, and this Noah infront me, they seem like two different people" Aria said.

Noah shrugged, "I know how to change myself to get people comfortable with me".

"You mean you know how to manipulate people" Aria corrected.

"You call it manipulation, I call it becoming the exact thing a person needs" Noah said, he grabbed Aria's wrist and pulled her closer to him, "Like the night we met, it was obvious to me that you needed someone, someone who could love you, who could take care of you, who could understand you, so that's exactly what I tried to become, for you".

Aria shoved Noah off of her, "Well, you failed, so run along" she said.

Aria turned around to walk away from Noah, when suddenly her eyes landed on Damon was standing behind her, a smirk on his face, letting Aria know he had seen the whole exchange, he had seen Aria push Noah away from her.

Aria glared at Damon, who in turn just winked at her, wanting to teach Damon a lesson, Aria turned around and pulled Noah closer to him, surprising him.

"What are you doing?" Noah asked confused.

"Dancing" Aria replied simply, wrapping her arms around Noah's neck.

Noah smirked and pulled Aria closer to him, both the vampires started swaying to the music, but before things could escalate, a hand was wrapped around Aria's wrist and she was pulled away from Noah and into another hard chest.

"Ugh, it's you again" Aria complained, realising it was Damon who had pulled her.

Damon didn't say anything, he just put his hand on Aria's waist and pulled her close to him, leaving no space between the two, "Dance with me" he said into Aria's ear.

"No thanks" Aria said, pushing Damon away from her.

Aria tired to walk away from Damon, but he quickly grabbed her wrist and after spinning her around, dipped her down.

"Oh come on, it's tradition, Ria" Damon said, pulling Aria up.

"Not anymore" Aria said, trying to get out of Damon's grip but failing miserably, "Damon, let go".

"Fine" Damon said, finally stepping away from Aria, "I thought no humanity Aria was supposed to be fun, but you're just a buzzkill".

Aria glared at Damon, who in turn just gave her a smirk, without saying anything else, she walked away from Damon and towards the bar.

"You aren't always going to be able to save her" Noah said, making Damon realise he was still here.

"I just need to keep her away from you till she gets her humanity on, because after that she can handle you on her own" Damon said, walking away from Noah and towards Aria, leaving behind a pissed off Noah.

***

"Shots for m'lady" Damon said, placing two shots infront of Aria.

Aria ignored Damon and simply downed the shots he brought.

"This whole party looks suits you" Damon said, "You look hot".

Aria looked at Damon, "I know what you're doing here" she said.

"And what am I doing?" Damon asked.

"You're babysitting me" Aria replied.

"I'm not here to babysit you, Ria" Damon assured.

"Yes you are" Aria argued, "You are here to make sure I stay away from Noah".

Damon shrugged, "Maybe" he said, "But I'm also here to have fun, have some things I need to forget about".

"Like?" Aria asked curiously.

"Like the fact that my mother faked her death and is currently stuck in a 1903 prison world" Damon revealed.

"Yikes" Aria simply said.

"Yikes indeed" Damon said.

"Here" Aria said, handing Damon a shot, "You need this more then me".

Damon took the shot from Aria and downed it.

"We're going to need more alcohol" Damon said.

Aria smirked, "Now that, I can gladly arrange".

And with that Damon and Aria spent rest of the night getting wasted.

***

After spending the night with Aria, Damon finally made it back home once he realised how late it was getting and that he had three little souls waiting for him back home, his small attempt at bringing Aria to meet the kids failed as the minute Damon mentioned the kids, Aria had ran away, making Damon realise that their kids could be a possible emotional trigger for her, and unfortunately Aria knew that as well.

Entering the living room, Damon frowned seeing Kol and Kai there.

"Finally" Kol said, seeing Damon enter the room, "Where have you been?".

"I was with Aria" Damon replied, "What's with the frowns?".

Kol and Kai exchanged an uneasy look, "Me and Kol went through the Gemini coven archives, and we found out why your mother is stuck in 1903" Kai replied.

"Why?" Damon asked curiously, "And how can we bring her back?".

"Damon, I'm not so sure you want to bring her back" Kol replied.

"And even if you want to, I'm not helping you bring her back" Kai added.

Damon glared at Kol and Kai, "Sounds like you two just asked me to kill you".

"You can't kill me" Kol reminded.

"You requested a truncated version, so we respectfully jumped to the end" Kai defended.

"Why aren't we bringing her back?" Damon asked, trying his best not to attack the siphoner witch.

"Because there are only two prison worlds in existence" Kai informed, "Mine, created in 1994, and the one created in 1903 for the sole purpose of locking up your mom and her closet full of crazy pants".

Damon glared at Kai, he went to charge at him, but Kol, having sensed that, quickly speeded over to Damon and restrained him.

"Stop!" Kol yelled, trying to stop Damon from attacking Kai, "Attacking him isn't going to change the truth, Damon!".

"He said we'd get her back!" Damon yelled.

"You don't want her back, Damon!" Kol yelled, "If you don't trust Kai's words, then at least trust mine, bringing your mother back will put everyone in this town in danger, including yours and Nik's children".

Damon looked at Kol in confusion, "What are you on about?" he asked.

"Your mom's a Ripper" Kai informed, shocking Damon, "She's a Ripper", after realising Damon was too shocked to attack Kai, Kol slowly stepped away from him, "She turned in 1858, faked her death, went to Europe, where she went a little nuts".

"No" Damon whispered, refusing to believe his mother was a ripper.

"Bodies piled up, she moved" Kai continued, "Killed some more until she had to move again, they think three thousand in total".

"That's enough" Damon said, no longer wanting to hear anything else.

"And for some reason, Aria and my coven made it their duty to stop her" Kai said, "So they cut her off at the New York harbor before she could tear through Manhattan, granted, by the time they got to the ship, they found out that everybody was dead, was so gruesome that they had to burn it at the harbor".

"I said that's enough!" Damon snapped.

"Kai, stop" Kol said, realising Damon couldn't take anymore.

Kai nodded in understanding, "I guess I'll just show myself out" he said.

After Kai left, Damon slumped on the couch in defeat, his brain having a hard time processing everything.

Kol patted Damon's shoulder in sympathy and left the room to take care of a crying Alec, knowing Damon wasn't in the right mind space to take care of the kids.

Damon didn't know how long he sat in the living room trying to process everything, at this very moment, he regretted letting Aria turn her humanity off, because right now, all he needed was her, she was the only one could help put his restless mind to a rest, but she wasn't here, and Damon was left all alone.

***

Presenting 6x16 of The Vampire Diaries . . .

How was the chapter?

Thoughts on Damon warning Aria to stay away from Noah?

Thoughts on Aria purposely getting close to Noah to make Damon angry?

Thoughts on Damon and Aria figuring out that their children are a possible emotional trigger for Aria?

Thoughts on Kol and Kai telling Damon about his mother being a ripper?