CHAPTER THREE | THE RAGER

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IT WAS THE MORNING AFTER THE MEMORIAL, AND EVELYN FELT GREAT. She stepped out of her bed and threw on a pair of ripped jeans paired with an off-the-shoulder jumper. A very quick make-up application was all it took for Evelyn to eventually saunter out of her room and down the staircase where she saw the two Salvatore's stood in the doorway.

"Good day for a mid-life crisis. One-hundred and sixty-four years, I'd say you're due." Damon smirked as he leaned against the door frame with a bottle of bourbon in his hands. He smiled toward Evelyn, who stood beside him.

The brunette vampire eyed up the fact that Stefan was stood, leaning against a motorcycle. "What's this in aid of?"

"Elena's transition into a vampire has been a little depressing." Stefan sighed quietly as he sat on his motorcycle. "I'm gonna help her have some fun."

"One of your better ideas." Evelyn chuckled quietly, though she soon noticed Damon roll his eyes. "If you roll your eyes any harder, they'll roll right out of that thick head of yours." She narrowed her eyes toward Damon. "What's your problem? Still having a disagreement about which of you is the better man for Elena Gilbert?"

Evelyn knew that Damon and Stefan were equally involved with Elena, despite Stefan actually being her boyfriend. The Austin vampire couldn't come back to town and just assume Damon would fall straight back in love with her. She wanted to get to know who Damon was now, regardless of how much she still cared for him.

"Yep." Stefan rolled his eyes. He turned his attention to pair, who looked as if they were on their way out. "Where are you two going?"

"That hunter jacked Tyler Lockwood of his werewolf venom last night so basically he's got vampire poison in a bottle." The Salvatore's arm immediately draped over the brunette's shoulder. "We're going to find him, and we're gonna eat him"

"Haven't had a proper meal since I came back to this town, I can't wait to taste blood straight from the vein." Evelyn wriggled her eyebrows suggestively. "I'm starving."

Stefan drifted himself from his motorcycle. "I'll go with you."

"I don't want your help, I have Evelyn." Damon snapped immediately. He didn't want Stefan's help, besides it was another opportunity for him to spend some time with Evelyn. "Oh, have a great day at school, brother."

Evelyn and Damon headed toward his car. She slipped in the passenger seat, while he sat in the driver's side. The atmosphere was awkward for a moment, but eventually, Evelyn spoke. "So, what's the deal with you and Elena?"

"The deal?" The Salvatore echoed.

"Well, I know that she's Stefan's girlfriend. However, I can't help but notice the tension between you and him when it comes to her." Evelyn raised an eyebrow as she heard Damon scoff. "Come on, what's the story?"

"Stefan left town with Klaus, went on a ripper-no-humanity binge. Elena and I were left together, there was that one time when we kissed." Damon joked though he noticed Evelyn lower her sunglasses and glare at him. "What do you want me to say, Eve?"

"The truth, perhaps?" She shrugged. "You're not gonna break my heart if you tell me how you really feel, Damon. We've been apart for a very long time, I half expected you to have found someone else. I never imagined it would be Katherine's doppelganger, though."

"I love her." He breathed immediately and the brunette's breath hitched in her throat. "But, since you've come back, I— I don't know, okay? We've got better things to worry about than the habits of my heart, alright?"

Once they pulled up to the trailer park, it was obvious which trailer was Connor's, considering it was the only one there. The vampire's edged their way towards it. Damon entered first with Evelyn a short distance behind him, but as he entered, two arrows flew and shot him straight in the back.

"Oh, my God. Is that a bomb?" Evelyn's eyes immediately widened as she noticed the arrows had wires on them which were connected to a bomb across the other side of the trailer. "Damon, please tell me that's not a bomb."

"Okay, it's a kitten. It's an adorable, exploding kitten." Damon gave Evelyn a gleeful smirk, despite the fact he was very close to death. "Come on, you're not going to get hurt. All I need you to do is cut the arrow."

"Okay, fine." The brunette vampire took a deep breath, grabbed the knife, and started to get to work on the arrows that were inside Damon's back. She felt him move over towards some papers on the table beside him. "Anything interesting about our hunter-guy?"

"Oh, no. It's about Pastor Young. Crazy guy who wrote a letter about sacrifice and war brewing in Mystic Falls." Damon explained the contents of the papers while Evelyn chuckled from behind him.

"A greater evil is coming." Evelyn glanced over his shoulder and scoffed quietly as she turned her attention back to the arrows. "Surely Mystic Falls has enough of that with us running around."

"You'd think." Damon shrugged.

"You should really stop with this whole I'm-too-cool-to-care attitude, you know." Evelyn sighed quietly. "I mean, come on, what's your issue?"

"What do you mean?" Damon furrowed his brows immediately. "I'm just trying to make good on all the stuff I've done, I'm a bad brother."

"You're a good brother. Whether you want to admit it or not. I know you, Damon. Remember that." Evelyn finally had cut the arrows from his back and placed the knife down, "You're a good brother, and you're not gonna be exploding any time soon."

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After the trailer events and now that Klaus had returned back to Mystic Falls, the group had devised a plan that they hoped would bring an end to their hunter problem for good. They had Jeremy Gilbert lead Connor into a back room of the hospital, where Damon and Evelyn were waiting for him. Connor had become seemingly drawn to Jeremy, for reasons that nobody truly understood, but it seemed Jeremy was the best option for bait.

"Is a hospital really the best place for a germophobe?" Connor raised an eyebrow as he noticed the Salvatore, who had introduced himself a germaphobe the first time they had met.

"Did I say that I was a germophobe?" Damon lifted his hand over his mouth awkwardly. "Pfft, sorry. I meant vampire."

As soon as Damon uttered the word vampire, Connor pulled out his gun and prepared to shoot Damon but an arrow shot him in the arm, which caused him to drop his gun. He lunged forward in an attempt to grab it, but Evelyn sped forward and kicked it before he got the chance.

"Oh, stings doesn't it?" Damon shot him a devilish grin. Connor glanced at the side of him noticed that the arrows were connected to two bombs. It was the same set up as the one in his trailer.

The hunter completely disregarded Damon's comment and tried to lunge for the gun once more, but Klaus entered and kicked it out of the way. "Hello, mate."

Connor was intent on trying to find a way out of the restraints, but Evelyn rolled her eyes with a slightly amused look on her face. "Keep this up and we'll be scraping you off the ceiling."

"You three are going to kill me anyway." He shrugged.

"Well, let's not be too hasty. I feel like we're just getting to know each other." Klaus made no effort to hide the devilish smirk that instantly began to form on his lips.

"Start with the basics." The Salvatore slowly stepped forward. "Where are you from? What do you know? Maybe you can clue me in on this greater evil because this one is just dying to tear someone's throat out." He pointed to Evelyn, "Plus I've fought this guy. There's nothing more evil than these two."

Evelyn rolled her eyes as she nudged Damon gently with her shoulder. "I'll pretend I didn't hear that."

"Yeah, truth be told, I'm as evil as it gets."

"I'm not telling you anything. You think it's going to be over if you kill me? There's another waiting to take my place." Connor spat and the trio could tell he wasn't lying.

"See, this is what I like to hear— vague threats, ominous prophecies, disappearing tattoos." The Salvatore spoke but Evelyn noticed Klaus' smile soon face at the mention of a disappearing tattoo.

"What do you mean tattoos?"

"There's no point asking, he won't tell you a single thing and you can't see any tattoo." Evelyn shrugged immediately as she watched Klaus examine Connor.

Klaus lowered his tone and got closer to the hunter. "There's more to you than meets the eye, isn't there?" Connor made another attempt to escape, but Klaus grabbed his hand. "Nice try. But, I'm faster than your average vampire." He twisted his hand backward and broke it to retrieve the stake that was within his grip. "You're one of the Five?"

Both Damon and Evelyn's eyes widened. "The what?"

"I'm faster than your average hunter." Connor yanked on the wires that were connected to the bomb. Damon grabbed hold of Evelyn's hand and pulled her out of the room just before it exploded behind them.

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Evelyn stepped back into the Salvatore house after she'd received a text from Stefan. She left Damon at the hospital to deal with the aftermath of the explosion. As she entered, Stefan gave her a smile. "Hey, thanks for coming."

"Of course, your text sounded important." Evelyn took a breath as she peeled her jacket from her body. "What's up?"

"Do you— uh, do you remember what you were like before you turned?" Stefan raised an eyebrow toward the girl who sat down on the chair opposite him.

"Bitchy, sarcastic, moody, and completely obsessed with Damon. Yeah, I remember." Evelyn chuckled, as did the Salvatore. He remembered what Evelyn was like. Every other sentence was a sarcastic remark, it was why she and Damon got on so well. "Why'd you ask?"

"Well, you grew into yourself when you became a vampire, right? You— you've changed. And Elena, she's changing, too. And I want her to be able to enjoy it without all the guilt and shame that I went through. And there was a moment today when she did. And when I'm with her, everyone bone in my body tells me to join her, to enjoy it. But I know that if I do, even a little, I risk becoming him. The Ripper."

"You're a Ripper?" Evelyn's eyes widened as she slowly watched Stefan nod. She had heard about Rippers. They were vampires that fed without remorse until there was absolutely nothing left. They were never satisfied. "Oh, I understand. You don't know how to enjoy her vampirism while resisting temptation."

Stefan nodded slowly. "Damon promised me he'd help me stay off the edge, but, uh, he and I, we're not in a very good place right now. Not when it comes to her. I just thought, you're one of my oldest friends and you've got experience—"

"—I'll keep you on the straight and narrow." Evelyn nodded immediately, a smile on her face. "Relax. I won't let you go off the rails, no way."

"Thank you." Stefan thankfully nodded toward the brunette. "I know that things can't really be easy for you, either. I mean, you came back for him but he's—"

"—Got his eyes on Elena?" Evelyn finished for him. She watched him nod slowly as a chuckle left her lips. "Well, as I said to him, I'd be a fool to expect him to not have moved on. You both thought that I died. Hell, I thought you two died. I just— I don't know anymore."

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