A Magnetic Personality
DG32173

Sarah: welcome to Chapter 4, which was completed before the first chapter was ever posted. I'm hoping everyone is enjoying the tale I am weaving here. Anyways, review replies and then the chapter. The chapter starts with Damon.

REVIEW REPLIES

OlicityxSkyeward: I think that's how it happened, too. Sadly, French studies won't be making too much of an appearance as I have no idea how to speak the language. I just know she took the class because it was one of the classes Stefan shared with her in Season 1. Thanks for the review. Here's more.

Leann Nickerson: yep, compass wants them together. One of them will have to be brave and confess how they feel to the other. No, he won't be happy about the compass but what's he to do? He 'borrows' it this chapter but won't find out what it does until next chapter. Thanks for the review. Here's the next chapter.

shnicky87: oh, he's going to be affected by the compass even more after this chapter. No spoilers, so you'll have to wait and see what happens when it happens. Hope you enjoy it as much as you enjoyed the previous chapters. Here's the update.

Nymous44: thanks, glad you like what you've read. Here's more.

Chapter 4
Damon Finds Out

As I enter Elena's room via her window, I immediately notice that part of her floor is slightly raised. Now that's not safe. As I approach the raised section of floor, I notice a weather-tight seal around the edges. I smirk. That seal tells me Elena forgot to completely close one of the hidey-holes I haven't yet found. Score another point for me.

I raise what turns out to be a trapdoor and examine the cubbyhole beneath. I notice that the bottom of the cubbyhole has its own floorboards, reinforcing the ceiling of the room below. I carefully lower myself into the compartment and begin going through the contents of the shelves lining the 'walls' of the cubbyhole. Towards the end of my investigation, I find what is obviously a new addition to the hidey-hole: a seemingly innocuous compass. Given how disturbed the dust on the shelf around it is, I have a feeling this compass is at the heart of whatever secret Elena is keeping.

Curious as to what could be so special about the compass that Elena would spend two weeks carrying it with her, I pocket it and continue going through her things. Once I'm done, I use the strength of my arms to lift myself out of the hidey-hole. I securely close the trapdoor before grabbing Elena's journal from her nightstand and read the past few days worth of entries. Then I grab her pen and begin writing my message to her.

Elena,

Found another hidey-hole of yours because you left that lovely trapdoor cracked. Score another point for me. That's a nicely constructed hidey-hole. Did your father help you make it? It looks like it had to be made with the knowledge of at least one of your parents.

It's very well hidden when the trapdoor is closed. Now I'm going to have to be even more thorough in my search for the last two hidey-holes, knowing that you had help in the creation of at least one.

Found some interesting things in this hidey-hole. Let me guess, that felt hat with a tuft of fur attached to the inside brim once belonged to Teddy, right? It matches his bowtie and the fur matches the mysterious bald patch on his head. I'd love to know the story behind their separation.

Anyways, get another scoreboard going, marking another point to my side of the board. Thanks for the 'help' in finding this hidey-hole. I'll keep looking for the other two.

Damon

I return her journal and pen to the nightstand. I marvel once more at how seamlessly the trapdoor blends in with the surrounding floorboards, the mark of an expertly-crafted hidey-hole. I pull out the compass I had taken from that hidey-hole. "Time to discover your secrets," I murmur, watching as the needle slowly spins from pointing north to pointing nearly due south. "Where are you trying to lead me?" I ask the compass, getting off Elena's bed and ducking out her window.

I'm going to follow the compass and see where it leads. It's obviously been spelled and Elena obviously only left it behind with great reluctance today. What had this compass been spelled to track? I'm determined to figure it out. I don't bother fetching my car from the boarding house. Instead, I use my speed and vampire abilities to take the most direct route.

The compass leads me to the graveyard, where I spot Elena's car in the parking lot. I proceed to let the compass lead me nearly to the graves of Elena's parents, where I spot her seated with her back against a the tombstone in the next row. I glance at the compass: it's pointed directly at Elena. Giving Elena a wide berth, I circle her, my gaze focused on the compass. It stays glued to her like she's carrying a powerful magnet.

I pocket the compass as I decide to approach Elena. I won't tell her I have her compass. I still have to figure out why it pointed to her while I was holding it. I'm sure that's not what it points to when she holds it because that would be pointless. If I can figure out what the compass was spelled to do, then I can figure out why Elena's determined to keep it a secret.

Once I secure the compass in my inside jacket pocket, I approach her from the direction of the entrance of the graveyard, allowing my feet to disturb the gravel enough to alert her to my presence. She looks towards me and smiles. "Hey," she says.

"Hey back," I reply in our typical fashion, taking a seat next to her and leaning my back against the tombstone behind us, mimicking her position. I nod to her parents' grave. "Come to visit them?" I ask gently.

"Sometimes I miss them with a nearly overwhelming ache," she admits. "I have all these questions I'd love to ask them, particularly questions for Mom. But they can't answer me clearly from wherever they are now. Jenna does her best, but it's just not the same as having Mom's advice."

I nod my understanding. After my mother had died giving birth to Stefan, an old slave we had did her best to step into the role of surrogate mother. But it just never was the same as actually having my mother there to talk to. The old slave never had children of her own and just didn't fully understand how a mother acts and reacts.

The same is true of Jenna. She has plenty of experience being the doting, fun-loving aunt. She has zero experience in the role of 'mother'. And because of that, she's struggling to fill the roles of both parents for Elena and Jeremy. It's hard enough filling the role of one parent, much less two. It's a good thing for Jenna that both Elena and Jeremy are essentially good kids. Sure, Jeremy had gone off-track for a while after the crash, but my compulsions on him after the druggie's final death got him straightened out again.

I sit in silence next to Elena as she holds whatever silent conversation she's having with her dead parents.

Elena

As Damon and I sit in silence, I wonder why I had sensed him circle me once before approaching. Every other time I've sensed him nearby since the compass heightened my Damon-radar, he's come directly to me. But today he circled me at a far enough distance that I couldn't see him well enough to make out more than that someone was circling me. If it wasn't for the fact that I could sense it was him, I would have freaked out. As it is, I'm simply confused.

But I shove those thoughts away for now, knowing if Damon was going to explain himself, he would have done so immediately. That he didn't means he'll keep his reasons to himself for now.

I return to my silent conversation with Mom as I luxuriate in being in Damon's company and free of the awful side-effects of the compass for a while. I had taken the risk this morning and left the compass behind, hoping being separated from it would allow me relief from the side-effects, which are stacking up each time I follow it. No such luck. The side-effects are still as strong as ever.

'Mom, I wish I could talk to you about everything I'm going through and get your advice. Given your choice of bedtime stories you told Jer and I, I know you'd keep the secret from Dad. I know you'd be willing to give Damon and Stefan a chance to prove their worth rather than automatically label them monsters for what Katherine did to them,' I think, tracing Mom's name on the double gravestone with my eyes.

'You'd know what I'm struggling with and be able to give me advice on what I should do. Do I give in to these feelings I have for Damon that are growing stronger by the day? Do I trust what the compass Bonnie spelled is trying to tell me? Will that make me like Katherine, given that I was with Stefan first? Or did breaking up with him absolve me of any chance of becoming like that bitch?

'Mom, I'll always wonder about your cause of death. We didn't have an autopsy performed on you or Dad. But I will always wonder about your death. Were you already dead when the water started rushing in the car? Or did the knock on the head you suffered merely knock you out and you ended up drowning first? I'll never have the answer to those questions. I know Dad ended up drowning while Stefan was getting me to safety. But your death will always be a mystery. Because there was no autopsy, I have no way of knowing if there was water in your lungs.

'But Jenna and I decided that we couldn't postpone the funeral even for an autopsy to be performed. That would just have postponed the closing of that chapter of our lives and we agreed we couldn't do that to Jeremy.

'Mom, I wish I had some sign I'd recognize from you on what to do about Damon and my feelings for him. Do I take the risk and tell him how I feel, hoping he feels the same way about me? Or do I wait for a sign from him that he's ready to start a new relationship? Mom, please, wherever you are, give me a sign I'd recognize on what I should do!'

I sigh and resettle myself into a more comfortable position. Suddenly, without warning, the one stray cat in Mystic Falls that had even won Mom's heart runs up to Damon and meows at him. I feel like ice water had been dumped on me. Is this the sign I had asked for?

Damon looks at the cat. "What's with you, cat?" he demands.

I watch in shock as Lucky, as Mom had called the tomcat with half a tail and a shredded ear, playfully bats Damon's leg before climbing in his lap to nuzzle my hand. "Hey, Lucky," I greet the battle-scarred warrior-kitty I haven't seen since Mom's death. "Where've you been hiding, buddy?"

"Elena, you know this cat?" Damon asks.

"This is Lucky," I introduce. "He's a stray that had managed to win Mom's heart with his battle scars. I haven't seen him since before her death. Normally, he hates men, which is why I'm so confused as to why he's all over you." 'Mom, is this your sign, telling me that I should give in?' I think.

Lucky nips my fingers, purring his heart out while kneading Damon's pants leg with his front claws. "He is totally destroying my jeans, Elena," Damon complains, but I can tell he doesn't really mind. He cautiously reaches out a hand to scratch Lucky behind the ears. "Do you have any idea what scarred him so badly?" he asks.

"I only know the story behind his tail. A cruel and vicious outsider took garden shears to it because Lucky used his prized potted petunias as a litter box. He was instantly chased out of town when Mom caught him at it and spread the word. Mystic Falls will not stand for such cruelty in someone living here. Mom paid the vet bill on that one, but only half his tail could be saved. The other half was too badly mutilated," I reply.

Damon grimaces. "I will never understand how people can be so cruel to something that can't fight back," he says softly.

"I've asked around town many times, but nobody knows the story behind Lucky's ear. In fact, nobody knows where Lucky came from or even how old he is. Even the oldest residents in town insist Lucky has always been around and his ear has always been like that. They swear they remember him being around when they were kids, still having that shredded ear.

"Because of that, I've recently started thinking maybe he's a supernatural cat. But it's not like I can just ask him. Mom swore that he spoke to her when they were alone. But I've never heard him speak in any language other than cat," I say, reaching over and scratching the base of Lucky's tail, one of his favorite places to be scratched. "All I know is his eyes hold far more intelligence than any other cat I've come across and he always seems to understand exactly what I'm saying to him."

Damon gently lifts Lucky up to look into the cat's eyes. I feel Damon's Power uncurling from within him to swirl around the three of us. Suddenly, Lucky pops Damon on the nose with a paw, interrupting whatever Damon had been doing and causing Damon's Power to curl back within him. Damon blinks and settles the cat back onto his lap.

"You're right that this is not a normal cat," he says cryptically, returning to scratching the cat behind the ears.

Damon

That mental contact I made with 'Lucky' was definitely the most unusual I've ever experienced. 'Lucky' is by no means a normal cat. There is a keen intelligence in that mind, on par with that of a vampire. But he's not a vampire trapped in cat shape. No, 'Lucky' can choose what form he appears as the same way I can when I choose to shape-shift into a raven or a wolf. But whatever 'Lucky' is, he made it very clear that he's not a vampire.

That's nearly all I got out of the mental contact before he used his considerable Power to kick me out of his head simply by smacking my nose with his paw. I wonder just what 'Lucky' is, exactly. But he's not about to reveal any more of his secrets to us. All I do know is that when I was a human boy, I had met and befriended 'Lucky' in another form, the form of a stray dog I had called Skylark. That's all he would let me know of his thoughts.

Whatever 'Lucky' is, he is definitely a supernatural being that is near immortal, like vampires. Normally, I'd think 'vampire' when thinking of near immortal supernatural entities. But this creature, whatever he is, he made it very clear that while the only way he can die is by being killed, he doesn't drink blood to fuel his existence like vampires.

I wonder if he'll ever let us know exactly what he is. He looks at Elena, meows again, nuzzles my fingers one last time, then runs off in the direction of the woods. I wonder when I'll see him next and what form he'll take in that meeting.

"I wonder if his showing up when he did was a sign from my mom," Elena murmurs.

"What do you mean?" I ask curiously.

"I asked my mom for a sign I can understand about some questions I have. Immediately afterwards, Lucky showed up when I haven't seen him since her death. I wonder if he was sent as a sign," she replies.

"Never know," I say softly. "All I know is he is by no means a normal cat. In fact, when I was a human boy, I had known him in another form altogether. That's almost all I got before he kicked me out of his head."

Elena looks at me, obviously startled by my words. "Is he a vampire?" she asks, knowing I have the ability to shape-shift and that most vampires can gain the ability with practice.

I shake my head. "I don't know what he is, but he made it very clear that while he is nearly immortal, he is not a vampire. I don't even know what his real name is. When I knew him as a boy, he was a stray dog I called Skylark and took the time and effort to befriend. He made it clear that while he can be killed, he will never die a natural death. But I could tell as soon as I touched his mind that I was not in contact with the mind of a vampire or a cat. He's something else altogether and is extremely powerful."

"If he's so powerful, why did he allow someone to mutilate him like that?" she asks.

"You'll have to ask him," I retort. "As you said, it earned him favor with your mom. Maybe that's part of it."

Elena sighs and pushes herself to her feet. I rise as well, sensing she's about to depart. She has plenty to think about, what with 'Lucky' revealing part of his secrets to us. For that matter, so do I. I still have to figure out the secrets of this compass and why it led me to Elena.

"Well, I should be getting home. Jenna's going to be wondering where I am if I'm not back soon," she says, glancing at the rapidly sinking sun.

While I know it's barely six in the evening, the sun is setting earlier and earlier as winter fast approaches. "I'll walk you to your car," I say, falling in step beside her as she starts making her way to the parking lot. I watch as she drives off until her car disappears around the corner that will take her home.

Then I check for witnesses. Finding none, I take off for the Boarding House. I still have to figure out this compass.

10pm, Gilbert House

Elena

I've finally finished with everything I have to do tonight and completed my nightly routine. I'm now sitting on my bed, my journal in my lap. I open it to where I had left off and roll my eyes at discovering another entry from Damon. As I read it, I feel a chill of terror run down my spine.

After I finish, I leap out of bed and wrench open the trapdoor to my hidey-hole. I lower myself inside and check to see if my compass is where I had left it. It's gone! I search the whole cubby-hole before I accept that Damon must have taken it.

Oh, God, was he following it when he circled me today at the graveyard? The thought has me terrified because following it wakes up its side-effects, I've discovered. I had followed it a third time two days ago and woke up even more side-effects, which is why I tried separating myself from it to see if being away from it would at least reduce the intensity of the side-effects.

One of the newest side-effects is that now the compass invades my waking thoughts as well as my dreams to show me the path I would take to get to Damon and gives me the urge to follow that path. The other new side-effect to wake up was that now it's getting harder and harder to wake myself up from the dreams it gives me at night, causing me to be further and further along the path to Damon before I wake up.

This is bad! If Damon starts suffering those side-effects, he'll be sure to figure out what the compass does. And I don't know how he'll react. With a sigh, I lift myself out of the cubbyhole and close the trapdoor properly, sick with worry over what Damon will do when he figures out the compass's purpose.

I climb back in bed and make the new scoreboard, adding another point to Damon's side and removing it from mine. Then I proceed to my journal entry.

Dear Diary,

What I wouldn't give to turn back the clock to this morning! In my rush to not be late for school, I inadvertently left Damon the perfect opportunity to discover another hidey-hole, one of two I use for things I don't ever want found.

Damon actually took something from there that I wish he had left alone: a compass Bonnie had spelled two Saturdays ago. I'm not going into detail on what she spelled it to do, but I do know that each of the three times I followed it woke up new and worse side-effects that now make it difficult to concentrate on anything else.

I hope Damon doesn't choose to follow the compass. He'll end up suffering these side-effects, too. And I have a feeling the side-effects won't stop until we give in to what the compass is telling us.

Well, Diary, it's late. I should get some sleep because I still have school tomorrow.

Elena

Sarah: and that's it for Chapter 4. Next chapter, Damon figures out the compass's secrets. I bet your curious as to what will happen then. Well, until next time, review and tell me what you think of the story so far and what you want to see happen next.