1,418The next day, Josie and Elena were having lunch when Damon came over and told them Stefan was missing. Josie had forgotten all about Stefan's capture at the hands of the tomb vampires!
Josie insisted on accompanying Damon and Elena to the vampire house. She knew Stefan was there of course, but she also remembered that the lady who owned the place would never let Damon in. She didn't have any idea of how to get him out though. After Damon came back and explained the lady had been compelled to never let him in, they were all at a loss with what to do.
Josie knew that Alaric was meant to go with Damon. Why had they chosen Alaric though? His ring… The ring that Josie had prevented from activating so no one knew of its power. Damn it. What were they going to do now?
"What about Pearl?" asked Josie, trying to think quickly. "From what you said, I don't think she would have authorized his kidnapping. I bet they're doing it behind her back."
She was surprised no one thought of this in the show. Make Pearl smack down those other vampires.
"And how do we find Pearl?" asked Damon.
Josie pulled out her phone. "I bet her daughter knows."
Within an hour they had gathered Pearl and Anna with them at the school. "Why are we here?" asked Pearl. "I can deal with them myself."
"They've gone rogue," said Damon as they walked down the hallway to Alaric's classroom. Josie had convinced them to talk to Alaric about getting some anti-vampire weaponry. "They may not listen to you anymore. One of the teachers here has some… equipment that should help us."
They managed to convince Alaric to use some of his anti-vampire stuff, for Stefan and they made their way to the farm house. When Damon, Pearl and Anna left Elena and Josie in the car with strict instructions to wait, Josie knew Elena would never listen.
"I have to help him, Jo," said Elena, getting out of the car.
"Then I'm coming with you," said Josie, following her. "No arguments."
Elena nodded, clearly not willing to argue. They crept around the back of the house and ran down the stairs to the cellar.
Josie was terrified. She thought her heart was going to pound out of her chest. What the hell was she thinking? Going into a vampire-infested house with just her vervain spray to protect her?
Glancing over at Elena, silently walking beside her, she knew why. Because as much as she'd fought against it, tried to stop it, she'd started to care. And it wasn't just Elena. Jeremy, Jenna, her friends, even the damn Salvatore brothers. She cared about all of them and didn't want to see them hurt. Elena was frantic that Stefan was being tortured in this house. And Josie would do whatever it took to help. Just like she would with her own siblings back home.
Sighing, Josie gripped her spray tighter and tried to focus on the task at hand. Elena broke through the window of the door to the basement and unlocked it. Thankfully, the guard was listening to music and didn't hear the broken glass. The guard must have noticed Elena peeking around the corner though, because he started walking towards them. Josie tried not to breathe too heavily and got her spray ready.
They heard the guard drop to the floor and saw Anna standing over him, vervain needle in hand.
"I thought you guys were supposed to be in the car?" asked Anna, confused.
"I have to help Stefan," Elena replied, heading into the basement room where Stefan was being kept. Poor Stefan, who was hanging there by vervain ropes. He looked awful.
"Did your mom take care of the rest?" asked Josie, nearly gagging at all the blood as Anna pulled the knives out of Harper's thighs.
"Sort of," said Anna. Her words were punctuated by a crash upstairs. "You guys get him out of here. I've got to go help my mom." And with that, she vanished.
Josie and Elena were getting Stefan to the car when they were attacked by Frederick who had snuck away from the house to get his revenge for Bethanne's death. Josie and Elena managed to stake him together, but not before he'd stuck Stefan in the gut.
Josie could only watch helplessly as Elena offered Stefan her blood, just like in the show. She hadn't been able to stop it; she hadn't remembered. She felt awful.
When Frederick attacked again and Stefan killed him for good, Josie saw the fear in Elena's eyes as Stefan's viciousness. If only she knew… The only comforting thought Josie had was that this wasn't the worst of Stefan's brushes with drinking human blood, at least not in the show. She only hoped it passed soon. The tiny glimpse she'd gotten of Ripper Stefan was enough for a lifetime.
When Damon came to her that night, she wondered how much longer they should keep this up. Even though he left her satisfied as always, her feelings had started to change. She was surprised how well she'd handled today's events. How… normal it felt. Maybe not normal exactly, but a lot less foreign than it had before. Making plans, sneaking into the farmhouse, rescuing Stefan.
Maybe she didn't need this escape anymore. Maybe she'd grieved enough for her old life and had accepted that this was her new reality- at least for now.
As Damon vanished through her window, she wondered at this house, this town, these people… she almost felt at home.
A few days later, Uncle John came to Mystic Falls. Josie followed Elena and Jeremy's lead and acted friendly, but distant. Josie remembered that Uncle John's heart was in the right place, even though he was working with Isobel. Plus he had sacrificed his life for Elena's in the end, so Josie definitely couldn't hate him.
Elena came to Josie that same day, asking about Jeremy. Elena showed her the report Jeremy wrote about vampires. Josie sighed and pulled Elena into Jeremy's room. She couldn't take all the "does Jeremy know" drama bullshit. They had it out right there, that night, including Elena's adoption.
Without the vampire Vicky incident and Jeremy's memory wipe, it went a lot better than it did on the show. At the end, all three siblings hugged and promised no more secrets. Jeremy thankfully didn't tell Elena about Josie and Damon. That one she was planning on taking to her grave.
Jeremy and Anna were hanging out more and more. Without Vicky's influence, he wasn't begging Anna to turn him into a vampire. Jeremy just liked Anna and they soon started dating.
Then, the day of the Founder's Kick-Off party came. Bridget and Tracy picked Josie up and they headed to the party. They both had dates, so Josie found herself hanging out with Matt and Tyler at first, drinking whiskey out of a bottle.
Stefan was acting a little weird due to his bloodlust, but since both Elena and Damon swore he was fine, Josie couldn't really do anything. She remembered he hadn't actually killed anyone (this time) and when he compelled the DJ to put on some decent music, she decided to just let it go.
Josie was dancing with her friends when she saw Tyler go off with Matt's mom, Kelly. She was surprised by the subtle feeling of jealousy that rose up. She followed them, determined to prevent their disastrous hook-up.
"Hey Tyler," Josie said, putting an arm around him. "I was wondering where you went off to. Hi Mrs. Donovan."
"Hey Josie," Tyler said. "You okay?"
"I'm good. I'd be better if you were dancing with me."
"How much of that whiskey did you have?" asked Tyler, laughing. He'd had a fair amount to drink too.
"Enough," said Josie, biting her lip and smiling. Just like every time they'd hung out lately, she wondered if he had any more-than-friends feelings for her. "Please?" she asked. "One dance."
Tyler threw an apologetic look at Kelly and followed Josie to the dance floor. They danced for a while before she decided she needed another drink.
"Just a small one," said Tyler, leading her back to one of the rooms. She sat down on the small sofa that was there.
He pulled out the bottle of whiskey and took a swig before handing it to her.
"We should probably get back to the party," said Tyler, though he sat down beside her.
"Why? It's nice here," she said, leaning on him. "Quiet."
Tyler smiled and wrapped an arm around her. "Quiet can be good."
"Yeah?" she breathed, turning around so she was facing him. Because she'd been leaning on him, their faces were fairly close.
"Hmmm," he said, before lowering his lips to hers. They were still kissing intensely when Matt walked in.
"Ty, where's the…" Matt trailed off when he saw Tyler and Josie. "Sorry, dude," he said and bolted.
Josie groaned. "We really should get back to the party."
"Hmm… Why?"
"We've been gone for a while. Isn't your dad supposed to give some speech?"
Tyler sighed, but got off the sofa. They headed back to the party and listened to the Mayor's speech. Afterwards, he asked if she wanted to go for a walk.
'A walk' turned into more kissing in his car, which was only interrupted by Josie's phone incessantly buzzing. It was Tracy, wondering where Josie was and if she still needed a ride home.
"I'll catch a ride with Elena or Jenna," Josie said. "I'll see you tomorrow…. Okay, bye." And she hung up. Josie sighed. "I should probably go. It's late."
"It's not that late," said Tyler, leaning in for another kiss.
"I'm serious," giggled Josie, still a little tipsy. "Besides the party is letting out and this is your dad's car." The words seemed to sober Tyler a little.
"What are you doing tomorrow night?" he asked.
Josie smiled. "Nothing."
"Want to go to Benito's with me?" Benito's was an Italian restaurant a few towns over. It was nice, expensive, and romantic. Not a place you took a friend.
Josie smiled even bigger, but couldn't resist teasing him a bit. "Benito's? I'd love to, but you should be careful Tyler, people are gonna start to think you're a 'we person'."
Tyler shook his head and smiled. "All I heard was 'yes', Gilbert," he said, kissing her again.
They soon returned to the party. Josie found Jenna and got a ride home with her.
As she sat in back seat, behind Jeremy, she thought about Tyler. Maybe Tyler was the right combination of caring and dangerous? He was a potential werewolf, after all. He was hot and kissing him was just as hot as kissing Damon.
Josie sighed. Oh Damon…. She knew she had to end it. Not just because of Tyler, though that was certainly part of it. There was also Damon and Elena. And then there was Josie herself.
Damon had been her escape, her release valve from the pressures of being Josie Gilbert and her grief of her old life. But she was healing.
She wasn't acting anymore, she realized. She was Josie Gilbert. There was a certain… peace in acceptance. Clarity.
And she knew that what she and Damon had wasn't what she wanted. Not really. Maybe it was Tyler and maybe it wasn't. Either way, it was time to stop.
When Damon came to her that night, she stopped him before he kissed her.
"Damon, we have to stop this," she said.
"Why? You and Tyler make it official?"
"No… We're going out tomorrow, but he's not my boyfriend."
"So what's the problem?"
She couldn't really explain her need for escape, so she tried a different tactic.
"I know how you feel about Elena. I see the way you look at her, Damon. And you and I… this is all we'll ever have. And that's okay. But, it's not enough. For either of us."
Damon frowned. "Elena and I aren't even friends. She hates me."
"No, she doesn't," said Josie, shaking her head. "You know, maybe if you stop being a jerk all the time, you might have a shot."
"She's my brother's girl."
"For now…. She's 17, Damon. There's plenty of time. And you're not getting any older," she smiled. "You know I'm right. About us too."
"Up to you," was all he said.
Josie just rolled her eyes. "How about a good-bye kiss?"
Damon smiled. "Oh, I'll give you more than that."
He pulled her close and kissed her fiercely. He removed her clothing, taking his time to kiss up and down the length of her body, making her cum twice with his hands and mouth. Then he finally stripped off himself and slid into her, making her forget one last time.
Afterwards, they laid in bed. Josie couldn't believe she was going to give this up. But it was important that they stopped. It wasn't enough for her, not anymore.
Eventually, he told her about Uncle John coming back from the dead at the party. How he had revealed the power of the rings to Damon and Alaric. Apparently it had been quite a shock to Alaric, who hadn't had a chance to experience the ring's power firsthand since Josie had saved him from Damon.
Josie was not happy that Damon had tried to kill Uncle John, but she reasoned Uncle John was a dick and had threatened to reveal everything about Stefan and Damon to the Council. Plus, she was still a little drunk. She decided to let it go. She didn't want to ruin their last time together.
"We'll still be friends, right?" she asked, watching him get dressed.
"Of course," he said, putting on his shoes. "You're still in the gang," he smirked. And then he was gone from her window. She bit her lip as she watched him go, hoping she'd made the right choice.
A/N: So ends the Damon affair :-( He definitely helped Josie though and of course he'll continue to be a big part of the story, and her journey (their friendship won't be without its ups and downs).
For Josie, unfortunately, some of the most interesting characters aren't available yet coughOriginalscough (Klaus is probably my favorite character in the series). Plus her relationship with Tyler will be important to the plot as she moves into Season 2.
