CHAPTER TWENTY EIGHT / ACT TWO

Wolf vs Vampire

"This is all apart of the historical society's continuing efforts to give back to the community!" Carol Lockwood announced to the crowd of citizens of Mystic Falls who were all scattered around, helping organize and set up the new public park. "Thanks to the generous donation of the Fell family, we are now standing on the site of our newest public park. Thank you to everyone who has shown up today and lend a helping hand."

The crowd clapped as Carol stepped off the platform in front of the crowd and everyone eventually spread out into different areas to help as much as they could.

Angelina watched as everyone dispersed, leaving her alone in the middle of the field. She didn't want to attend in the first place, as she had far more important things to accomplish than help organize a park, such as search for the moonstone.

Except, after a continuous amount of persistence from Caroline and Stefan, she eventually agreed. Though she had no intention of abandoning her search for the stone, but she felt it would be enjoyable to spend time with her friends following her sister's visit, thus she was here.

She hadn't told anyone about her encounter with Katherine to Stefan or anyone else, and she had no plans to do so. Their own drama was going on between her and her sister. She knew keeping secrets wasn't the best decision, but she had no choice.

She knew the Salvatore's. The moment she mentioned the moonstone, they'd want to know more about it; and the more they knew about it and what it can be used for, and who wanted it, the further she'd be putting them in danger.

Katherine believed she'd implanted herself deep within her sister's mind, but she hadn't. Her annoying persuasions and her constant mentions of Niklaus had made an impression on her, but they weren't enough to persuade her to follow through with her plan.

In fact, they made her want to defy them even more.

The doppelgänger stood alone, as if she had been waiting for nothing. She'd arrived here aimlessly, unsure of what she was expected to do as she hadn't been given any tasks. She sighed deeply, and just as she was about to search for her friends, she was surprised by two arms wrapped around her waist and squeezing her from behind.

Stefan's arms caught her attention right away, and her pulse skipped a beat. He kissed her on the forehead softly before laying his chin atop her head, and the two laughed together. She felt a rush of ecstasy go over her, and she bit her bottom lip to conceal her delight.

"Where have you been?" She questioned as he released her from his arms and they both turned to face each other, holding hands. "I haven't seen you since I got here."

Stefan let out an exasperated sigh before he spoke. "I was talking to Mason Lockwood, cleaning up one of Damon's messes once again."

"What?" Angelina drew her eyebrows together. "What happened?"

"Yesterday Damon decided it was a good idea to follow him last night. For some reason he assumed silver would kill him.. so he stabbed him."

The brunette's eyebrows raised and she swallowed hard, hoping it had nothing to do with Katherine. "Why would he stab Mason?"

"No idea." He shrugged and she rolled her eyes at Damon's rash behavior. She had no intention of making an enemy of Mason Lockwood, or any werewolf for that matter. Though it seemed she'd already become one by association.

She pressed her lips together while biting her fingernails. Recognizing her annoyed expression, Stefan drew her into a tight hug to offer comfort. While her irritation didn't go away right away, his soft embrace made her feel considerably better than she had a few seconds prior.

"It'll be alright." He reassured her. "We'll find a way to make peace.. somehow." They remained in place for a few more seconds before pulling apart and smiling, but she didn't want to separate. As soon as the brunette opened her mouth to speak, her thoughts were interrupted by the voice of a certain blonde vampire.

"Angelina!" Both of their heads turned to face smiling Caroline, who stood on the other side of the park waving her right arm in the air with a bucket of paint in the other. "Can you help me paint this?!" She called out for her friend, and received a laugh from the two of them in response.

"Be right there!" She called back and her friend smiled before setting down the paint bucket. Angelina returned her attention to Stefan and gave him a kiss on the cheek. "I'll see you later, okay?"

Stefan grinned and nodded before she ran off towards Caroline to help her paint the awning which providing shade for others who wanted to sit.

"Hey, Care." Angelina greeted her smiling friend who handed her a large paintbrush.

"Okay, what was that?" Caroline immediately asked, attempting, and failing, to conceal her giggles.

"What was what..?" The brunette bent down, dipped her brush in the paint brush, and began painting.

"I totally saw you and Stefan being all cute and romantic over there!" She finally let herself laugh and Angelina's cheeks immediately turned a bright shade of red. "Are you two dating?!"

"Caroline, I'm sure the whole of Mystic Falls can here you."

"Sorry.." She apologized though her giddy smile remained on her face as she scooted closer to her friend. "So.. you are together?!"

Angelina side eyed Caroline before hesitantly nodding. "Yes.."

The blonde's giddy smile widened as she giggled and clapped her hands together, giving her a hug from the side.

"Why didn't you tell me earlier?"

"I don't know, I guess we were just keeping it on the down low." Angelina shrugged and continued painting. "With Katherine back, we figured we had bigger things to worry about."

"Well, why'd you tell me then?" Caroline set down her paint bucket, her eyes shifting towards Angelina. "If you're scandalous little relationship is so top secret."

"I mean, you're like my best friend, Care." She replied, continuing to paint the wood. "Of course I'd tell you."

The blonde smiled though remained silent, her grin growing even wider than it was a moment ago.

Angelina shook her paintbrush back into the bucket and squinted her eyes to block out the sunlight in her face. Her gaze was eventually drawn to the lunch tables, where she intended to go after she finished painting.

As the Petrova stared, she noticed Caroline's mother, Liz Forbes, staring directly at her and her brows drew together in suspicion. It was unsettling, to say the last. She seemed concerned, worried even. As if she knew something, and she didn't like it.

"Hey, what's up with your mom?" Angelina continued to stare back at Liz, eventually turning towards the blonde.

"Oh," Caroline glanced in her mother's direction then back at her friend. "Don't worry. She's been acting weird all day long. Suddenly, she's running for mother of the year, just when I'm trying avoid her the most!"

"Yeah.." Angelina stood up from the ground, muttering under her breathe. Unfortunately, right before here eyes, there stood Damon and Mason talking to each other by the lemonade stand, which she already knew meant trouble.

"I'll be back, alright?" Before Caroline could process her words, the doppelgänger had already made her way to the lemonade stand, hoping to put an end to whatever was going on between those two.

"What was that about?" Angelina said to the Salvatore, as she watched Mason walk away with a smirk on his face and a cocky look on Damon's.

"Oh nothing," He turned to face her, his cocky smirk refusing to leave his mouth. "Just a bit of friendly banter."

"Stefan told me what happened between you two." Angelina crossed her arms, a frown appearing on her face. "Why the hell did you go after him?"

"Mason's a werewolf; a werewolf that can kill me with a single bite. He's a threat, an enemy."

"He's only a threat if you make him one, and you've turned him into an enemy yourself."

"You sound like Stefan." He remarked. "You finally have sex with him and all of a sudden you're brainwashed?"

"I don't sound like Stefan, I sound like any person with a sane mentality." She retorted whilst rolling her eyes at his words. "Back off of Mason, alright? We already have enough problems with Katherine without you starting more."

"With pleasure."

"Would you like some lemonade?" Their chat was interrupted by a high-pitched, childlike voice. With a lovely smile on her face, the two turned their heads towards a young girl offering Damon a small plastic cup of lemonade.

"Thank you, Sweetie." He smiled as he took the cup from the girls grasp and watched as she walked away to serve others. Raising the cup to his mouth, he took large sip.

Except it didn't stay down very long.

Almost immediately, Damon spit out the glass of lemonade onto the concrete, gagging and coughing uncontrollably.

"What the hell?!" The brunette jumped back out of his way to avoid his spit. "What's wrong?" She placed her hand on her friends back and led him to the lunch tables for him to take a seat.

"Vervain." He spoke through his coughs, his voice raspy and weak.

"Why would the lemonade have vervain?" Angelina kicked the cup to the side. "I thought the council believed they got rid of the vampires in the fire.."

"Mason.." He muttered.

She grabbed a bottle of water from the table next to them and offered it to Damon, who snatched it from her grip and drank from it right away.

"I've had worse," He gloated in an attempt to make himself appear tougher. "I'm gonna kill him." The Salvatore stood from the lunch table, and Angelina followed behind him.

"Damon, stop!" She raised her voice though he ignored her. "Damon!"

Angelina took a quick look around before speeding in front of him and bringing him to a stop.

"Get out of my way, Ang." He cautioned her as he attempted to walk around her, but she grabbed his wrist and forced him to halt.

"I get it, you want the werewolf dead, but if we're gonna kill him, you're gonna have to calm down for 5 seconds." He drew a deep breath once she let go of his arm. It didn't matter to her that killing Mason would create a war between her and her sister. He began the war by threatening to expose them to the entire town, or specifically even sheriff Forbes. He'd brought it on himself, and now he'd have to pay the price.

So all she had to do was torture it out of him him and then kill him. Damon, on the other hand, could not accompany her. Not when he had no knowledge the stone existed to begin with.

"What's that look?" The Salvatore spoke, snapping Angelina back into reality.

"Um.. nothing." She reassured though he didn't buy it.

"You're lying."

"Maybe I am Damon," Carelessly, she shrugged. "But thats not what's important right now. I know you wanna kill Mason, but I think it'd be better if I did this on my own, alright?"

"What? Hello no!" He retorted. "He tried to expose me, therefore he will be killed by me."

"Damon.."

"Are you coming or what?" He asked and she bit her lower lip, rubbing the top of her forehead. "Either I go, or we both will."

Angelina threw her head back and groaned before staring him in the eye and frowned. "Fine then, we both go."

"There's the immoral Ang we know and love." He smirked devilishly at her. Just then, his gaze was drawn to a certain Lockwood werewolf alone in the woods, carrying two trash bags, unaware of two vampires already contemplating his death.

"There, trash duty." He pointed.

The Petrova cast a glance in the direction he indicated, took a deep breath, and returned her attention to the vampire. "We have to be careful, alright? I have a feeling he's not working alone. Something's up with Caroline's mom, I think she's onto us."

"Sheriff Forbes?"

"Yeah."

"Don't worry about her, she won't be a problem."

"Just.. let's be smart about this, okay?"

The raven haired vampire nodded urgently, his devilish smile shifting to an earnest expression. They examined their surroundings to make sure no one noticed their sudden disappearance and began striding towards the woods, quietly following Mason.

But unfortunately, they remained clueless to the numerous other pairs of eyes watching them like a hawk from the other side of the park.

AUTHORS NOTE
what do u think of angelina keeping secrets bc i lowkey have mixed feelings abt it

ALSO SORRY FOR POSTING THIS SO LATE LMFAOOOO

um i lowkey felt sexual tension between damon and ang when writing their dialogue 💀

ok bye