(act two, chapter four: memory lane)

─── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ──

"Sometimes I really regret doing things." Buffy said to Mason as the two stood in front of the Gilbert house.

"You only live once, B. Besides you love spending time with me." Mason said to his daughter as he went to ring the doorbell but Buffy stood in front of it before he could do it.

"I do, but this is a bad idea. You know what? I'm just gonna go." Buffy said as she started to walk forwards so that she could leave.

"I don't think so." Mason spoke as he pulled her back to her place next to him. "I know you miss her, B. You haven't gone without speaking to your mother this long ever before. I know you two. Besides you're going to have to forgive her once. She's your mom."

"Doesn't give her the right to lie for so long." Buffy said, stubbornly as Mason rang the bell. It didn't take long for the door to open with her mother standing on the other side of it.

"Hey! Come in." Jenna smiled at them. She was happy that her daughter was actually here. It was one step closer to her forgiving her.

Mason gave Buffy a look once they were both inside and Buffy turned to her mother.

"Thanks for letting me invite Caroline. She could really use some distraction now that she and Matt are broken up." Buffy said as she had asked Elena this morning to ask Jenna if she could invite Caroline.

"Well, she's not the plus one I'm worried about." Jenna said as the two walked into the kitchen were they found Elena putting some crisps in a bowl. "Why is Damon coming?" Jenna asked her daughter and Elena.

"Because Alaric is a pity take." Elena replied as Jenna sighed. "Come on, Jenna, be nice."

"I'll be nice when Damon learns to keep his paws off you." Jenna said and Elena looked away, awkwardly.

"Good news, found the shot glasses." Mason announced  as he walked in the kitchen.

"That would be our exit." Elena said as she dragged Buffy with her at the moment Alaric also walked in. Buffy gave him a small smile as she followed Elena outside to the porch.

"What was my mom talking about?" Buffy asked as she picked up some crisps that she had taken with her.

"She walked in on Katherine and Damon kissing right over there." She pointed at the front door. "Thinking that it was me of course."

"Damon and Katherine kissed?" Buffy asked her with wide eyes.

"Yeah. And the worst thing is that he thought it was me."

"You're joking?"

"No."

What else did I miss?

"God! I cannot stop eating. Stefan says it's a great way to sublimate the cravings. It's horrible just fighting the urge for blood every minute of every day."  Caroline asked as she joined them and took the bowl from Buffy as the girl offered them to her.

"I know that Stefan really hates that part of himself." Elena said.

"Yeah and he hates that you're a constant temptation." Caroline answered as she took another crisp out of the bowl.

"He said that?" Elena asked with a frown on his face.

"The desire to rip out your jugular every time he's with you? Trust me, it's there. It's why I had to break up with Matt." Caroline said as Alaric walked outside.

"Food's ready, come get it!" He said before walking back inside.

"Finally, I'm starving." Caroline said, standing up and going after Alaric, leaving Buffy and a worried Elena.

"You know, if you want to know if that's what he thinks, you should just ask him." Buffy said to her sister, knowing that what Caroline had just said about Stefan was worrying her.

─── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ──

After they all eaten, they had moved to the living room, where Damon was now drawing on the paper as they all played Pictionary.

"Dress! Ballerina!" Buffy's mom said as first from the couch next to hers and Mason's.

"Puppy! Puppy with a tutu!" Caroline tried next as Buffy glared at Damon's head, knowing what he was doing.

"A dog! Hound-dog!" Jenna tried again.

"Dances with Wolves." Mason said from besides Buffy, making everyone turn to them.

"Mason wins again." Damon grinned as Buffy stood up to help Elena with the pie, even though the girl didn't need it.

"Your mom is getting tipsy." Damon said to Buffy as he followed behind her.

"Will you stop plying her with alcohol?" Elena asked of him.

"I want her to like me."

"How's Operation Lockwood?" Elena asked.

"More like Operation obvious." Buffy said as she looked at Damon, who shrugged.

"He's my new BFF."

"Come on, Damon. You know what he is, why do you want him to admit it to you?" Buffy asked, but she didn't get her answer when her mom walked in the kitchen a little tipsy.

"There you two are. Isn't this fun?" She asked the two girls while ignoring Damon.

"Yes, thank you so much for inviting me." Damon spoke in stead of the two next to him.

"Did I have a choice?" Jenna asked him with sarcasm.

"I know what you must think about me."

"No, you don't. You never dated you. I have dated many you's."

"I'm a work in progress." Damon replied as Elena handed her aunt a cake knife from the set on the counter.

"These are fancy."

"Thanks. My mother's silver set." Jenna replied, as Damon took a knife from the set.

"Damon." Buffy said in a warning tone as she slapped his hand, in hopes that he would drop the knife back into the set, but the vampire just smirked at her.

─── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ──

"Would I be the worst friend and sister in the world if I abandoned you and went to Stefan's?" Elena asked as the three girls were in the living room, while the adults were all in the kitchen, eating pie.

"Of course not." Buffy replied at the same moment as Caroline, who was picking up all the markers asked. "You want to leave?"

"It's just that he hasn't gotten back to me and I'm starting to get this bad feeling." Elena explained to Caroline.

"I don't think that's a good idea." Caroline said.

"Damon's got it under control here." Elena said.

"That's questionable." Buffy said as she looked at the dinning table where Mason had just picked up a piece of the pie with his hand and not with the knife that Damon wanted him to use.

"Take it from me, there is nothing worse than a clingy girlfriend." Caroline said, trying to convince Elena to stay.

"I'm not being clingy, I'm just being concerned. You understand, right?" Elena asked as she started walking over to the front door.

"How about I drive you?" Caroline quickly asked.

"Yeah, okay, that would be great, thanks." Elena said before continuing her way outside to Caroline's car.

"What's wrong, Care?" Buffy asked as Caroline let out a nervous sigh.

"Nothing." The blonde lied.

"Okay." Buffy replied, not believing her, but they were just going to the Boarding house, what could go wrong?

─── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ──

"I swear to God, Damon." Buffy said as she stopped Damon from opening yet another drawer in her bedroom and standing in front of it so that he wouldn't try again, like the last two drawers. "You're so nosy."

"B, your mom just brought out 'Guitar Hero'." Mason said as he entered her room and looked weirdly at the sight in front of him.

"It's not what you think." Buffy said, warning him from saying anything as she slipped from between her drawer and Damon.

"Might be time to mutiny!" Mason said, choosing to ignore whatever he had just seen as he spoke to Damon.

"Well, I just happen to like 'Guitar Hero'. So you, my friend, are barking up the wrong tree."

"Okay, enough with the innuendos, you win. You're hilarious."

"Thank you." Damon said. As if he didn't already know that.

"Come on, man. You don't think I know what this barbecue is about?"

"How do you know about me?" Damon asked the Lockwood. "Your brother was completely clueless."

So clueless that he died in that fire that John Gilbert set.

"It doesn't matter. I'm not your enemy, Damon."

"You tried to kill my brother and Buffy." Damon said, giving Mason a knowing look.

"I'm sure that was a mistake, Damon." Buffy said from beside him.

"Indeed. There was confusion. I couldn't chain myself up in time. I have no control once I shift." Mason said, explaining what had happened that night.

"What, no obedience school?"

"I'm serious. Let's not spark some age-old feud that doesn't apply to us."

"You expect me to believe that you are in Mystic Falls planting peach trees?"

"I lost my brother, my nephew lost his father. I'm here for Buffy. I'm here for my family. Let's be above this." Mason said as he extended his hand and Damon grabbed it, even though he was not agreeing to be 'above it'.

When Buffy left the room with her dad, she threw a look over her shoulder, warning Damon to not do anything.

─── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ──

Was supposed to update this two days ago, but my The 100 rewatch was getting too good again :)

Words: 1518

Posted: July 28, 2024

Be sure to comment. I love reading them and it really keeps me motivated!