Vampire Diaries 1. Chapter 1

No Sympathy for the Dead

Chapter 1

"This will be the last time I say this to you Lea, so listen up," My sister parked her car and we made our way inside the local Starbucks, "Johnny Depp is way hotter then Brad Pitt."

I stared at her in bewilderment. "Andrea, listen to yourself for a second. What you're saying is completely false. There is just no way Johnny Depp comes close to the hotness that is Brad Pitt." Big bright letters that spelled Starbucks illuminated what would otherwise be a dark parking lot. Midnight coffee runs with my sister were always the funnest. We'd chit chat about the most random things. Topic of conversation tonight, who was the hotter actor, Johnny Depp, or Brad Pitt.

"Johnny Depp is not only the better actor-"

"I'm not asking you who the better actor is, because I agree, Johnny is the best. But in a competition of sexiness? The Pitt all the way." Holding the door open, I ushered her in. She wouldn't be winning this conversation.

"Johnny Depp is mysterious, eccentric and just flat out gorgeous."

"Very true, but Brad Pitt is strong, has a killer body and sweats carnal desire." We made our way to the counter.

"What do you know about carnal desires?" A smile appeared on her pretty face. She had golden skin and sported a cute and choppy pixie cut. She radiated happy happy joy joy, and I couldn't help but grin too.

"I know a few things."

She smacked her lips and placed a hand on the counter, "I think I'll have whatever you're having."

"Living dangerously today, I see. Two venti caramel brulee frappuccinos please. Two percent milk, and as much whipped cream as you're allowed to put on there. And two slices of coffee cake." A trip to Starbucks wasn't a trip to Starbucks without coffee cake.

My sister began rummaging through her her pink tote bag that looked attacked by butterflies. Green, aqua and yellow ones were designed on it.

"Shit," she cursed under her breath, "I left my money in the car. Give me a second to go get it."

I nodded and she left in a hurry. Tapping my fingers on the counter, making my own little tune, I waited for her to come back so we could finish our debate. Brad Pitt was hotter because...he just was! For her to think Johnny Depp was hotter was just foolish, and someone needed to set her straight. And that someone was me.

An employee brought the food up and handed me it. It all looked scrumdiddilyumptious. Especially the coffee cake which eyed me devilishly. Andrea was taking one hell of a long minute. This was the world record of a minute. Temptation took over and I took just a pinch of the coffee cake, letting the cinnamon streusel melt in my mouth. Good lord, is this what heaven felt like? Sugary confections were the best.

"You know you have to pay for that right?" The redhead cashier huffed and rolled her eyes as she watched me pick apart the delicious cake. Her high pitched, nasally voice was filled with annoyance. And with good reason too. God knows how many extra hot caramel macciados with half 2% milk, half whole milk, one splenda, no whipped cream, but drizzle the caramel on top, in a double cup, not a sleeve, she had to make.

"Yeah, I'm just waiting for my sister to come back and pay for this."

"Well when do you think she's coming back?" Her tone grew tired and bored.

I looked around, searching for her outside but not seeing her. "I'm actually not-"

The whole room fell in a deafening silence when the most hair raising, bone chilling, scream tore from outside. The hairs on my arms didn't feel raised, but ripped out. And bone chilling didn't suffice to describe this scream. My bones felt like they were dipped in liquid nitrogen and then thrown against the pavement. It was horrible enough to produce another woman over in the corner drinking a cappuccino to scream. Everyone looked at the exit door, waiting for one another to do something.

Not realizing my mouth was agape, and my eyes where frozen on the door not blinking, I tried to regain control. That was, until another scream echoed and ricocheted off the walls of the cafe. I reached my hand out to grab Andrea's and it was then when I realized that she wasn't with me. She was stuck out there with whomever was producing the shrills, and whomever was responsible for them.

Dropping the coffee cake and knocking into a few people, I ran outside, damn near stumbling to get to where we parked. She wasn't there. I didn't see anyone. Placing my hand on top of the car to prevent myself from falling over, my heartbeat drummed an unsteady beat against my ribcage. Slowly raising up higher until it reached my throat, and then until I could practically taste it. My breaths became hitched, and I began to slip from off the car because my palms became sweaty.

"Andrea?" A dry, raspy cry escaped my lips. A shadowy figure moved from behind the car and my apprehension faded. I ran up to where the shadow was, ready to give my sister a huge hug, "Andrea, you have no idea what I just thought happened to-"

My back crashed against the concrete knocking the wind out of me. I tried to push my way up only to feel a gooey substance coat my hands. Pennies. The pungent smell of pennies overtook ravaged my sense of smell. Red. A sanguine color was everywhere creating a puddle around me. Suddenly finding enough strength to move an airplane, I jumped to my feet, and wasn't prepared for what I saw.

A body, a womans body, drenched in her own blood, camouflaging her identity. She was face down, but her head was contorted in a way that I never thought was humanly possible. I couldn't tell where she was bleeding from because the blood...she was swimming in it. Hand gripping my stomach, I doubled over and began dry heaving, stomach and throat convulsing in harmony. Vomit finally stained the ground, splattering into the red mess.

"HELP!" My vocal chords ripped into the cold night air. I searched the area for a bag to find a cellphone so I could call the police. It wasn't until I found a tote bag, that I found a phone. A pink...butterfly infested...tote bag. The bag slipped through my fingers as I looked at the body and noticed the woman had a short...black...pixie cut.

"No, no, no, no, no!" My hands ravaged my hair, probably pulling out chunks of it. I dropped to the ground like a fly sprayed with raid, and crawled over to this woman. Turning the woman around, I laid her on my knees. Before noticing anything else, I noticed two huge gaping hole puncturing her neck. Huge holes. These were the grand canyon of holes, "Andrea! Is that you? Is that fucking you!"

Rocking back and forth on the brink of losing it, everything happened to fast. A man called the police, they took my sister out on a stretcher, and I was now sitting in a police station getting asked a million questions at once, all while hearing my mother sob hard.

"Are you sure that's all you saw Miss Thompson?" Sheriff Forbes held a pen in one hand and a notebook in the other, jotting down everything I told her.

"Yes. I was in Starbucks, heard a scream, went outside, saw a shadow, and then..."

"That's when you saw your sister?" Her brows touched, meeting her eyes. Her lips thinned out and the edges of her mouth curved downward.

"Yes." My woods lacked emotion.

"And this shadow, did you catch a good look of it."

"No." At this rate, I'd become a robot in no time.

She stood up, making her way to the door. "Mr. and Mrs. Thompson, I'd like to have a word with you." Mom and dad got up, following Miss Forbes outside to discuss I don't know what. Why _did_ she want to talk to them? They weren't at the crime scene. They didn't see Andrea die. They didn't have her fucking blood all over them. In their hair, on their face, on their clothes. Why did she wanna fucking talk to them?

And as quickly as they left, they came right back in. Moods now completely different. My dad's face wasn't sad, but had regret written all over it. My mom had stopped her crying and her bloodshot eyes were now shut as she shook her head from left to right. The only persons demeanor whose said stagnant, was Sheriff Forbes. She still wore the concerned face she had before she left. You know, the ones cops have to perfect for situations like these.

"I think we know what killed your sister." She spoke slowly never looking me in the eye.

"What?"

"Attacks like these have been very common these last few weeks. Remember Anna Smith?"

"The name sounds vaguely familiar, yes."

"Well, she died around the same area as your sister. And the two attacks were very similar..."

"But Anna died from an animal attack." I now knew what she was getting at, and my blood now boiled. I was a volcano, and my blood was pure lava. "You mean to tell me a fucking animal did _that _to my sister!"

"I know you're upset Lea, but let her explain." My mom cried placing a hand over her heart. She too, didn't look me in the eye.

"It's the only thing that can explain it." Sheriff Forbes shifted in her seat before tugging on her ear.

"Do you take me for a fool Miss Forbes?"

"Excuse me?"

"Do you take me for a fool. Because I find it quite insulting to both me, and my sister that you would blatantly lie to my face and say an animal killed her. What type of fucking animal lurks in the shadows of coffee shops? A fucking squirrel? You mean to tell me that this squirrel did this to my sister. It hopped from one of the trees it stayed in, landed on her, breaking her neck from the impact, and then proceeded to drain her dry?"

"Not a squirrel, Lea." My dad tried getting a hold of me but it was too late.

"This must have been the most vicious fucking squirrel in all of existence. This squirrel was out for blood. And had the strength of an MMA fighter because my sister surely isn't strong enough to fight off a kitten, let alone the king kong of squirrels. I can see it now, 'Blood Thirsty Squirrel Sees Red And Murders Poor Starbucks Drinker' in the Mystic Falls daily."

It was all too obvious, their lack of eye contact, shiftiness, and ear grabbing. They were all a bunch of pathetic liars, and I wanted to know the truth now!

"Calm down, Miss Thompson. The sooner you accept the reality of the situation, the sooner we can all have a clear head, and figure out what animal did this."

My own blood now coated my fingers because my nails were digging into my lap, "I'll calm down as soon as you all tell me what really did this."

"Good night Mr. and Mrs. Thompson."

That bitch of a cop left us alone and I slowly cranked my head into the direction of my parents. Their heads were hung low and neither of them spoke, so I did it for them.

"You know the truth don't you?"

Silence.

"Don't you?"

More silence.

"You heard what Sheriff Forbes said Aaliyah." My dad murmured.

"Tell. Me. The. Truth." I grit through my teeth that were now super glued tightly together.

My mom threw her hands up, admitting defeat, "A vampire did it."

I laughed. I laughed the hardest I'd ever had. Yeah, there were two holes in her neck, but vampires were stories told to make little kids afraid of the dark. Then evolved into sparkling pussies with no personality. "I respected you all more when you blamed it on an animal."

"It's true Lea," Dad breathed rubbing his bald head, "Vampires are just as real as you and me. You said you wanted the truth and now you got it."

My heart sank when I saw how serious he was. His eyes, once filled with sorrow and grief, were now burning with rage. But that didn't matter, vampires were a lie and unfortunately, so were my parents, "How could we have let this happen, Lisa."

"I don't know, Charles." My mom placed her hand on his lap hoping it would cool his anger, "What do you think we should do?"

"We're doing what we do best and are gonna hunt these sons-of-bitches." He stood up stretching his huge muscles. My dad stood at six foot three, and even though he was 47 years old, always stayed in tip top shape.

"Despite what you may be telling yourself, darling, we're too old for that now."

I laughed following into their little trap, "I'll do it." They both snapped their necks at me. "Yeah, I'm young and strong. I'll follow in your footsteps and kill the bastard who did this."

"No, no, no," My mom was now standing, biting down hard on her thumb, "You said you screamed for help, and saw a shadow. And the mess it left means this clearly was a newly turned vampire. So they're probably scared shitless, and have left town by now."

"Well, that doesn't mean I can't protect Mystic Falls from the other vampires inside it." This was where they said they were just kidding and we could leave fantasyville.

But all they did was look at me. They scanned me and sized me up from head to toe. Inspecting me like I was now their science project.

"I think we can do it, Charles."

"You know what Lisa, I think we can too."

They exited the room, not even bothering to tell me, "let's go." They were in their own little world, and it was then when I realized that they were dead serious. They thought vampires were in fact real, and were gonna make me into a vampire hunter.

Wow. They were taking this joke way too seriously.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

I guess the joke was on me because I didn't know what I was getting myself into. For the rest of my summer, my parents trained the fuck out of me. They put me in kick boxing, taught me ways to spot a vampire, and how to always remain two steps ahead of them. Shit was rigorous and tiring to say the least. My muscles still ached from all my hard work. And they still had more to teach me because in the words of my dad, "I was just a puny amateur."

When I asked them how they knew about vampires, they gave me a little story. Apparently, since the Thompson's were a founding family, we protected the town from vampires that gathered in it. My family, were the hunters and brain of the operation and kept everyone actually safe. They could spot a vampire just from the way they spoke. And my parents were currently teaching me everything they knew.

I primped myself in the mirror making sure I didn't look too out of it. Black shoulder length hair covered a caramel colored face. Big hazel eyes followed a pointy nose and huge plump lips. But now wasn't the time to critique what needed to be changed to make me look pretty. Now was the time to act perfectly normal and get threw senior year.

_Ahh, _high school. Everyone's favorite place. The books, the teachers, the survival of the fittest. High school was a jungle where barbaric cliques fought notoriety. The popular kids versus the nerds. I, was what you called normal. A mixture between awesomeness and geek all rolled up into one black girl. And since I was neither, got the pleasure of enjoying everybody make an ass out of themselves. Particularly Tyler Lockwood and Jeremy Gilbert. The hotheaded jock, and the misunderstood kid. Watching Vicki Donovan pimp the two was an added bonus. I did slightly feel bad for Jeremy though. He was kind of cool.

"So it's official, you and Stefan are going out?" Voices echoed off the bathroom walls as a group of girls walked in. It was the famous trio. Caroline Forbes, Bonnie Bennett, and Elena Gilbert. Best friends since childhood. How cute!

The three stared at me like they'd seen a ghost, with Caroline staring the hardest. Her blonde hair was curled to perfection and her baby blue eyes were engulfed by thick lashes. She, however, was anything but a baby. A tramp was more like it. She placed a hand on her skinny hip and tapped her foot receiving a hard nudge from Bonnie.

"Oh, you all want me to leave?" Placing my hand on my chin I pretended to ponder. "Nah, I like it here, you guys can leave instead."

Caroline rolled her eyes and shook her head. "You know you're not wanted so why don't you just leave?"

I picked up my book bag and headed for the door, not liking where this conversation was headed. I pushed past the group, only to have Elena grab me by the wrist.

"Caroline doesn't mean to be rude, she's just not having the greatest of days," Elena cut a glare at Caroline, and I simply shrugged. I tried to get my hand back, but Elena didn't let go. "I'm sorry."

"Dude, it's just a bathroom, I'll live. I don't pee in these things anyway cause god knows when the janitors clean these things."

Elena smiled but it quickly disappeared, "Not about that Lea, about your sister. I knew her, and she was a good person. So I'm sorry about what happened."

"Yeah me too." Bonnie piped in.

Then Caroline. "So am I."

Ever since school started I had been receiving so many, "I'm sorry's." my head was going to explode. While it was nice knowing that people cared, having to keep hearing apologies only reminded me of what happened to my sister. And that fueled my rage even more.

"Thank you, it means a lot you guys." I gripped my bag even hard and I hoped they didn't notice. If they found out what was in this bag, they'd think I was a murderer. And if the school found out what was in this bag, I'd be expelled.

An awkward silence entered the room. Elena let go of my hand, and tucked a brown strand of hair behind her ear showing off her olive complexion. She was pretty, and not egotistic about it like Caroline. Come on now, let's face it, Caroline was as ditsy and superficial as they came. At least Elena was humble about it.

"You know, I'm having a dinner tonight-"

"Since when?" Caroline blurted out, obviously upset she didn't hear about said dinner sooner.

"Since now. And I'd like you to come Lea." Elena crossed her arms over her chest. "I'd like all of you to come. It'll be a good time for all of you to get to know Stefan, and to become friends with Lea."

Bonnie's green eyes practically popped out their sockets with the mention of Stefan's name, "Um, Grams needs me tonight Elena, sorry. And I'm really sorry Lea we'll hang out later."

We all knew that Bonnie was lying, but no one was gonna force her to go. And while I didn't want to go, moping around in my house didn't seem like a good plan either. I'd rather pretend to be happy then be completely miserable.

"What time should I come?"

"Eightish?"

"Sounds great. Now don't get mad or anything for me leaving abruptly like this, but I'm late for class so I gotta go." I backed out slowly watching their expressions change to horror as they looked at their phones to see what time it was. "Oh and anything I need to know about this Stefan guy?"

Elena's face lit up and a grin appeared instantly. "Only that he's perfect."


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

"You don't think they'll notice I didn't make this, right?" Elena scooped the store bought lasagna onto a serving platter that sat on her dining room table. The Gilbert house was nice and spacious. Dark wooden floors met manilla colored walls. It was warm and inviting.

"I'll deny it if you do." I set porcelain plates on the lace table cloth. Elena smiled, and continued to place more food out. Holding the forks and spoons in my hands, I wondered which went where. Spoons to the left, forks to the right? Not wanting to seem stupid in front of Elena, the silverware was placed wherever I felt they looked best.

"So, how do I look?" Elena twirled around showing off her outfit. A wine colored tank top with blue jeans is what she wore.

"Casual yet chic." Blurting the first stupid thing that came to my head, I looked down at what I was wearing. Some stupid band tee and ripped jeans. Exactly what I wore at school earlier that day. I suppose I didn't receive the, "dress to impress" memo.

Elena rested a hand on my shoulder sensing my disgust, "Don't worry, you look amazing," She looked down at the table scape and puffed out her chest with pride. "Perfect."

The table did look good. Small lit candles scattered about it, casting a small glow over the entire ensemble. The food, even if it were store bought, looked delicious. I caught a good whiff of the lasagna. It entranced me, taunted my stomach, and forced my mouth to water more than a waterfall. It dared me to take a spoonful out while no one was looking, but I had to restrain myself. Oh yes, once everyone finally arrived, I would get a hold of that food and lovingly dismantle it. Noodle by succulent noodle.

The high pitched ringing of the doorbell is what knocked me back to reality. Elena, now spazzing out, groomed herself once more, and answered the door.

"Stefan." I could hear the anxiety in her voice, and feel the smile creep across her face.

"Elena." Stefan handed her a bouquet of roses and stepped inside. He took a step towards me and I sucked in a breath. He was gorgeous. Chiseled, strong jawline, broad shoulders, with a pair of serious looking eyes. No wonder Elena was so smitten over him. He reeked manliness. And he wasn't the type who tried overly hard to seem rogue and powerful. He just was.

"This is for you Aaliyah." He handed me a single rose. I almost melted into goo.

"Thanks Stefan." I pressed the rose adoringly to my chest. "And call me Lea."

Elena ushered him over to the table showing off what a wonderful creation shehad "made." Stefan stood behind her, arms wrapped snuggly around her waist, "It looks beautiful, as do you."

I frowned a bit. You could tell what type of guy he was from that one line. He was the romancer. The chivalrous Casanova. The one who expresses all his feelings in a diary tucked safely underneath his bed away from peering eyes. And while that was all good for Elena, she seemed liked the type to go for the romancer, it saddened me a bit. Sweet guys were overrated nowadays. Sexy bad boys were in.

"So, I guess we should get started." I placed a hand over my stomach hoping that it wouldn't growl ferociously.

"No, we still have to wait for Caroline." Elena giggled as Stefan hugged her even tighter.

"Oh yeah, her..." I forgot Caroline was even suppose to show. And quite frankly, I would have enjoyed it far more if it were just the three of us. Caroline wasn't needed. She never was.

And with that, almost as if on cue, the doorbell rang, forcing me to wish we had never spoke about her. They say when you speak evils name, it shows up. Another door bell ring resonated through the house, only to have Stefan and Elena completely oblivious to it.

"Oh no, let me." I opened the door, watching Caroline and some unknown man expressing the same PDA that Elena and Stefan were. And while Caroline was clearly enjoying the affection, stranger dude was completely uninterested. I cleared my throat.

"About time." Caroline walked inside past me, leaving the man outside the house. He gazed up at me, and I finally got a good look at him. A shiver tore threw me. His eyes, they were cold. I'm talking colder than a polar icecap. They were lifeless, and possessed and evil to them. My parents trained me to be perceptive to other peoples auras, seeing as though that was only way to spot someone dangerous, and since most people aren't open up enough to sense these things. But this man's aura was black. I couldn't control the combustion of feelings that soared through me. Anger, hate, fear. All these things concocted itself into a tiny ball into the pit of my stomach. This was the same spidey sense I got, when I found my sister dead. This was the same spidey sense I got once I found out what truly killed her. This man was a freak. He was a demon. He was what the town would call, an "animal attack." He was a vampire.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

Vampire man and I locked eyes, neither one of us wanting to break our stare down or be the first to start the conversation. Everything my parents had taught me about spotting a vampire was about to pay off. My options were fairly simple, let him into the house and expose him, let him into the house and stake him, or not let him inside at all. I choose the latter.

Slamming the door in his face, I turned to see a raging Caroline charge at me like a cheetah does its prey. Leaning against the door, I prepared myself for her wrath. She stomped hard, moving until she was just mere inches away from me, and...let out a loud, guttural sigh.

"What are you doing, Lea?" She had both hands on her hips and looked beyond exasperated. It was then when I got a good look of her. It wasn't her curled hair, or the baby blue dress she wore that I noticed, Caroline always attempted to be the prettiest thing in the room, it was the scarf tied around her neck. It was blue, matching the color of her dress, and the material was light and soft. But who the fuck wears a scarf in the Summer? And Caroline Forbes wasn't a scarf person. Anything that unnecessarily hide Caroline's beauty was never be allowed in her daily wardrobe. This scarf was used to conceal something up. A hickey? Nah. Bite marks? _Ding, ding, ding, ding, ding. _We have ourselves a winner!

"Get out of my way." She nudged me over and the door opened once more. The vampire was still there, only this time with a confused look on his face.

"I'm sorry, did I do something wrong?" His voice, sweeter than sugar water, made Caroline weak. And just to add kick it up a notch, he gave her an innocent puppy dog look. Caroline, being the clichéd dumb blonde that she is, bought it. She was now what he wanted her to be, silly putty in his hands. He was good alright, but I was better.

With the strength of a Mystic Falls linebacker, I shoved Caroline to the ground, stepping over her fallen body ignoring how much I hurt her. A small fall was better than potentially letting a vampire kill her. I tried to gain control over the of the situation before Elena and Stefan, who were now in the kitchen, came out to see what all the ruckus was about.

"Of course not, I apologize for the rudeness. I'm Aaliyah Thompson, but everyone calls me Lea." I extended my hand, making sure the tips of my fingers never made it past the door frame. Rule number one about vampires, they can't come into a house uninvited. If he didn't shake my hand, he would only confirm my speculations.

"There's no need to apologize Lea," Hints of arrogance wafted through his words, "and I'm Damon Salvatore."

Noticing that my hand went untouched, I kept it out waiting for him to shake it. "Aren't you gonna shake my hand?"

"I'm more of a hug person." His retort was quicker than what I'd expected from him. However, he wouldn't be catching me off guard anytime soon.

"Come hug me then." I extended my arm to my sides waiting for him to step inside knowing that he never would.

"It would be rude of me to walk into Elena's house uninvited." His words became music to my ears. A fucking Tchaikovsky concerto played. The beautifully orchestrated notes flowed into my ears, reached my cerebrum, and validated everything. Boy oh boy, this man screamed vampire. It oozed from his pores like a zit on a teens face. He wouldn't be stepping in this house anytime soon.

"Mr. Salvatore, these aren't 1800s, people come into houses uninvited all the time." The flicker of annoyance in his eyes tickled me to no end. If laughing in his face didn't mean breaking out of character, I would have done it.

"If having manners means being dated, then called me old fashioned."

"Damon, what the hell are you doing here?" Stefan was now beside me brows furrowed. They knew each other? Dammit. But Stefan blatantly didn't like him. You could tell by his tense shoulders. He would only be an asset to plan get-rid-of-Damon.

"Waiting for Elena to invite me in so we can all have dinner. Which smells _delicious_ by the way, Elena." Damon peered over both our shoulders, smiling at Elena who was helping a fallen Caroline.

"How did you get on the floor, Caroline?" Elena dusted off her presumably aching friend. I knew all too well what would be happening next. Caroline, pointing at me like a child, began to play the blame game.

"She pushed me!"

"Did not."

"You're such a liar, Lea. God, why did we even invite you here anyway?" The thanks I get for saving lives...

"Speaking of invites, Elena, how about you invite me in, and we can all forget what just happened." His words, once again sugary and sweet, were laced with bullshit. Damon didn't care about making amends and start overs. He was up to something. I had to put faith into Elena. Contrary to Caroline, she was somewhat smart. She would know that if Stefan didn't want him here, and I obviously didn't, then there was something wrong with this man.

"I agree. Damon would you like to-"

"NO!" Stefan and I shouted in unison. She failed my intelligence test.

"Do not invite him in, Elena." Stefan warned before I eyed him suspiciously. Stefan not wanting Damon here was one thing, him knowing not to invite him in was another. Something was afoot and I would be playing detective all through tonight's dinner.

"But-"

"If you invite him in, I am going home Elena." This was my last resort. If she didn't fall for my act, then we were all royally fucked.

"But I really want you here," She was getting sad and irritated. But with good reason. Here she was trying to have a wonderful evening, and I was being nothing but a downer. That would be the price I'd have to pay to keep everyone safe. "Look, I know everyone is a little on edge right now, but let's all calm down and enjoy dinner together. Damon would you like to come in."

"Yes, I would, Elena." I didn't know who Damon stared at more before coming in, me or Stefan. He slid in like a snake, purposefully bumping into me on his way in. If this is how he wanted to play it, then fine, I'd play. Picking up my book bag that sat at the entrance of the house, I prepared to make Damon wish he had chosen and eternity in hell over eating dinner with us.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

We all sat at the dinner table in silence. An uncomfortable, tense, silence. I mean, Caroline, Stefan, and Elena would all try to strike up some conversation, but it would never last. It only produced a more awkward quiet than the last.

Damon and I however, glared at each other relentlessly. He knew that I knew about him, and that didn't bother me in the slightest. In fact, I hoped it put him on edge. Who knew when I would finally jump from my seat, and yell at the top of my lungs, "He's a vampire! He's a fraud!"

But I do have to admit, having to stare at him wasn't a problem. He was really good looking. And when I say really, I mean ridiculously. If Stefan was sexy, then Damon took it to a new level. Black hair scattered down his face, shading just a few parts of his pale forehead, and his pink lips gave a slight pout. He was eclectic. A mixture of many different things. Dark yet rugged. Antagonistic yet he seemed like he could switch into his nice guy routine anytime he wanted to. But that wasn't what distracted me. His eyes did. His ice blue eyes. They pierced through me. And despite their wicked and sinister appearance, they were dazzling. Cold enough to freeze hell over, yet hot enough to warm up any girl's soul. I shook me head, trying to release whatever vampire hold he used to captivate me. His eyes would be the first thing I staked if he didn't stop.

"Lea, did you hear my question?" Elena called from at the end of the table. Her voice was uneasy, and she could tell my mind was preoccupied. "You haven't eaten anything. Do you like lasagna?"

I reluctantly broke my glare, peering down onto my plate. An untouched meal stared back at me. The feeling to once ravage that food the stood before me, was no longer there. The desire to feel the stake that sat dormant in my bag ravage through Damon's heart however, bounced around my mind, tantalizing it to no end. _Too many people, Aaliyah. Too many people. _

"Of course I love lasagna." I took a bite, letting the cheesy noodles dance on my taste buds. Rolling my eyes with bliss, I began my attack against Damon, "This is so good. I taste garlic in this. I absolutely love garlic. Do you like garlic, Damon?"

I knew vampires could eat garlic. Training with mom and dad helped me figure that piece of information out. But I wanted to anger Damon to no end. I wanted to plant myself so firmly under his skin, you'd think I was another layer. He did nothing but smile and take a mouthful.

"Of course I love garlic." He smacked loudly and took a sip of water. "What's Italian food without garlic?"

Continuing to look down at my meal as I ate, I felt Damon's gaze on me once more. I welcomed it with a smile. The smug bastard thought he would intimidate me with that weird eye thing he did, but he didn't. It only let me know how big of an idiot he was. The room grew mute again. That is, until Elena tried to conjure up another conversation.

"Thank you so much for helping me set the table, Lea."

Before I could say anything, Damon jumped on the opportunity to speak, "So _you_ did the table?"

"Yeah, you like it?" An apparent fakeness sugarcoated my tone.

"It's beautiful." He cocked an eyebrow and pompous smile made its way onto his face. "I just have one complaint."

"And what's that?"

"You put the forks to the right, and the spoons to the left. It's the other way around."

"My apologies." You fucking prick.

He waved his hand in the air, dismissing my comment, "Don't be. Just remember, fork and left, both four letters. Spoon and right, both five." He held up his fingers according to the number he said, wiggling them around to make sure I would remember. I wasn't a fucking preschooler. He didn't have to do that.

"Damon..." Stefan warned with a low growl. I still had to figure out how the two knew each other without having to ask.

"What? She has a right to know, little brother." I began to choke. "One shouldn't live in ignorance."

Tears made their way to my eyes. I reached for a glass of water, hoping that would ease the lump of food down my throat.

"Are you ok, Lea?" Elena began to get out of her seat. I had to give her a thumbs up to calm her down.

"Yeah." I choked trying to regain my composure. "You two are brothers?"

Stefan had his face in his hands, shaking it rapidly. "Sadly Lea, we are."

"Oh come on now Stefan, I'm not that bad am I?"

"Yes." His voice was muffled and weak. The muscles bulging from his forearms proved to me that he was restraining himself from going crazy. But I cared little about how he felt. If Damon was a vampire, and I'd bet my life that he was, and Stefan was his brother, then that meant Stefan was too. I didn't pick up the same vibe from Stefan as I did with Damon, though. How'd I let him slip under my radar? Maybe Damon wasn't an old vampire, and was turned recently. Maybe Stefan didn't enjoy the thought of his brother being a vamp, and wanted Damon out of his life. Ugh, now wasn't the time to ask those questions. If Stefan was a vampire though, I'd have to kill him too. Damon would just be first.

"Ok, let's talk about something everyone loves, movies." Elena the housewife attempted a third time to strike up a conversation. They say third time's the charm. "We'll go around the table and take turns saying what our favorite movie is. I'll go first. Um...Beauty and the Beast."

Caroline clapped her hands together smiled. "My favorite movie, hands down, is Legally Blonde."

Typical.

"The Godfather." Damon said without missing a beat. We all knew, or at least I did, Damon didn't like that damn movie. He was just humoring Elena and her silly attempt to take control of this shipwrecked dinner.

Stefan however, had to say the mopiest movie ever, winning points with Elena, "Gone with The Wind."

Tapping my hand on the table, I was eager to give my answer. "My favorite movie has to be, Buffy the Vampire Slayer."

It was Stefan's turn to choke. He stared at me, eyes wide, and I played innocent. Shrugging my shoulders and scratching my head, I turned to Elena and Caroline, "Did I say something wrong?"

"I don't think so, I like that movie too." Elena ran over by Stefan's side, patting him on the back attempting to help the situation. She only made it worse.

While Caroline and Elena were genuinely concerned for Stefan's health, Damon and I continued our death glares. He smiled and waved his hand. And I balled my fist, imagined I was holding a stake, and jammed it into my heart.

"Look, maybe we should cut dinner short and just sit and talk. You all go out into the living room, and I'll clear the dishes." Elena beamed beginning to pick up dishes after Stefan stopped choking.

As if talking didn't get us into this mess.

"That sounds like a great plan," I began helping her accumulate dishes, "I'll help."

We went into the kitchen and I put the dishes in the sink. Turning around, Elena jumped on me giving me a desperate hug.

She began sobbing, "This is the worst dinner ever, isn't it?"

I patted her shoulder, hoping to alleviate some of the pain she was going through. "No, it isn't"

"No one is having a good time."

"I am." That wasn't a complete lie. Getting to know Elena and messing with Damon were both fun for me. It was Caroline that I didn't want here.

"Who needs help with the dishes?" Caroline skipped in. God damn, she _had_ to be evil. Second time in a row I thought of this girl, and then she appeared. If she weren't so stupid, I'd call her a vampire too.

But there was something different about her. Her pupils were dilated, and she didn't seem like herself. Caroline Forbes didn't do dishes. Anything that risked messing up her manicure was something she just didn't do. This was completely out of character for her to say the least.

"You know how to do dishes? Shocking."

She rolled her eyes and dropped the dishes into the sudsy water I'd prepared. "What's your deal, Lea?"

"My deal?" I scoffed. I don't know, maybe it was having her butch lesbian mom lie to me, or the fact that Caroline was beyond superficial.

Her blue eyes popped open. One could only imagine what she had just figured out, "I know what it is,"

"Caroline..." Elena warned, placing a hand on her shoulder.

"You're upset that you don't have a boyfriend right? I mean, I would be too if I had to have dinner with two girls, and their extremely hot boyfriends. You must feel so lonely and desperate." If I didn't think Caroline wasn't being serious, I might have insulted her right back. But she wasn't trying to be insulting. This was how she really thought I felt. She had no deduction or sympathy skills. "And isn't Damon hot?"

Elena brushed back her hair. "Yeah Caroline, he is."

Faking a gag, I stuck my finger in my throat and made a, "Bleh" sound. Elena laughed, while Caroline was clearly not humored.

"I'm sorry, I just don't think he's that sexy." I lied so hard.

"Whatever." Caroline seemed bitter. What did it matter if I thought her date was sexy? Always looking for attention, I wouldn't be playing into her little games.

"Do you mind if I check on Damon and Stefan for a second?" Elena asked and left after Caroline and I both nodded our heads. This was the perfect opportunity. I could finally talk to Caroline about her scarf.

"You know Caroline, that's a beautiful scarf." I washed the dishes, and she dried.

She began playing with the scarf, acting as if she didn't even know it was around her neck, "You mean this little thing? Damon bought it for me earlier today."

"Why?"

She stopped fiddling with the scarf and stood frozen. She cocked one eyebrow stuck her lips out. She stood their, looking dazed and confused. Oh my god, this was Caroline was trying to think, "I don't know. He just gave it too me today and told me to wear it."

"Can you take it off and let me see it?"

She shook her head crazily, "He told me to never take this off."

My mom and dad told me about this. Caroline was compelled. Mom said that if someone was acting completely out of character, and would refuse to do a simple favor, then they were under a vampire's spell. She also said that it could become an even bigger problem, and the vampire could use someone as their puppet. Hopefully Damon wasn't doing that.

She also told me that being compelled is somewhat reversible. Just as long as you find that one little flaw in the vampires plan. I had found that flaw. I looked out into the living room. Damon, Stefan and Elena all had their backs turned to me, but Damon wasn't fooling anyone. Vampires had super hearing, so he had probably heard all of our conversation. Grabbing Caroline with one hand, I used my other to cover her mouth and take her into the bathroom that was nearby.

"What are you doing?" The bathroom was small and cramp. Shushing Caroline, I sat her on the toilet seat and hovered over her.

"So he said that you couldn't take that off?" Caroline nodded her head and I rubbed my chin, "But he didn't say anything about _me_ taking it off did he?"

She smiled brightly, "No he didn't! I guess that makes it ok. Here." Caroline removed the scarf and handed it to me. I pretended to be interested in it. Feeling how soft and delicate it was, but I was really examining her neck. While the right side of her neck seemed fine, while the left side, looked swollen and red. Two brown, circular bruises laid on top of a vein. Yeah, he was a vampire.

I touched her neck and she jumped in pain. "What happened?"

"Nothing, Damon just likes to get rough during sex."

The image of Caroline beneath Damon was not something I wanted to envision. "Did he hurt you on purpose?"

"I mean, it's no biggie. This is the first time he did it. Oh, and he did it this morning. But I'm sure he won't do it anymore."

This fool. This poor, innocent, dumb little fool.

"Did you want him to do it?"

"If I didn't know better, Lea," she smirked, "I'd think you were trying to pry into my sex life."

Oh my god. I'd want to know about Damon's sex life before hers. Jesus Christ, the shit I have to go through just to kill someone.

She hit me on the shoulder. "I'm just joking, Lea. No, I didn't want him to do it. But I want him to be satisfied, you know? Damon's aren't really common in Mystic Falls."

Wasn't that the truth. Seventeen years of living and I hadn't seen anyone who'd even come close to Damon. Not even, dare I say, Brad Pitt. Damon just radiated sex. But he and I could never be, because soon enough, I'd be driving a stake in his heart before he knew it.

I handed her back her scarf, knowing all the information I needed to know. As much as I didn't like Caroline, I felt badly for her. She subjected herself to things she didn't want to do only because she wanted to please Damon. And pleasing Damon meant keeping a boyfriend. And keeping a boyfriend meant feeling special. And feeling special meant blah blah blah. The whole idea was a very tiring one.

"Look, just don't tell Damon about the biting thing ok? He'd get really mad at me."

I nodded. "I won't if you don't go home with him tonight. I'll take you home." She needed to stay as far away from him as possible.

"Um, yeah sure. Damon and I need a day away from each other anyway." She hugged me. What was up with these girls and hugs? "Thanks Aaliyah, you know, you really aren't that bad." Shimmying past me, she went out into living room.

"Thanks, I guess." I followed Caroline and prepared for round two with Damon. He turned towards me as Caroline sat on his lap.

"What were you guys doing?"

"I was just admiring the beautiful scarf you got her. That was nice of you."

He shrugged, rubbing the back of his neck. "That's just the type of guy I am."

I grew tired and bored. Damon was beginning to not be as fun as I thought he was anymore. All we did was tip toe around the subject of him being a vampire, while I wanted his secret to burst from my mouth. However, the only time that would be happening would be once he and I were alone. Completely alone, "I think it's time I'd get going."

"Aww, already?" Elena sighed.

"Yeah, it's getting late. Caroline, you ready?"

Damon placed his hand around Caroline's waist and tugged her close to him. And even though it didn't hurt her, and seemed like a playful gesture, it was aggressive and forceful enough to clue me into him being upset, "You're not getting a ride from me?"

She was done getting rides from him.

Caroline looked at me and began stammering her words. She didn't know what to say, so I spoke for her. "I offered her a ride."

"That was nice of her wasn't it, Damon?" Stefan nodded at me affirming me that this was the right thing to do. Maybe he wasn't a vampire.

"Yeah." His voice wasn't the normal, antagonistic voice he'd been using throughout the entire dinner. It was barely audible and held hints of anger in it. Oh no Damon, you wouldn't be killing Caroline tonight.

"That's just the type of girl I am." I mocked him before grabbing my coat, and getting my book bag. I looked underneath the dining room table, searching for it, but it wasn't there. In a panic, I pushed the chairs aside, damn near knocking a few of them over, and crawled underneath the table scanning the floor. The book bag that I had made sure to put underneath my seat just in case shit hit the fan, disappeared. It pulled a fucking Houdini on me, and vanished. Stakes, vervain, pistols loaded with wooden bullets, all those things were in that bag. If anyone, especially Damon, had gotten their hands onto it, we'd all be fucked.

"Has anyone seen my bag?" I pushed Damon over, looking around the area where he was sitting, "A black, hello kitty, backpack. It has a hello kitty hood to it."

Yeah, so what, hello kitty was the shit.

"No. Are you sure you brought it with you?" Elena began looking for my bag too. Of course I'd brought it with me. That bag had become a second skin. Wherever I went, it went.

Everyone began searching the room for about ten minutes. Elena and Caroline checked upstairs, Damon, Stefan and myself checked downstairs.

"Well why do you need it so badly?" Damon asked, words filled with a double meaning. He didn't care what I needed it for, he wanted to know what was in it. Well Mr. Salvatore, you'd be finding out what lied in that bag soon enough.

"Homework." Sweat began to sheen my forehead because I was searching so hard.

Caroline and Elena stepped downstairs, empty handed, "Sorry Lea, it wasn't up there," Great, just fucking great. I must've seemed like a crazy person for needing that bag so much. Then again, I knew about vampires and they didn't. That alone would send a person crazy. But having to hunt them as well, yeah, just call me insane. "Look, just go home Lea. I'm sure the bag will turn up before school tomorrow and I'll give it to you."

Angry and incredibly tired, I threw my hands up admitting defeat, "I guess you're right. Thanks again you guys for looking. Dinner was great, Elena. Caroline, let's go."

As Caroline and I made our way to the door, I heard Damon's voice call out to me. Turning, around I saw him holding my bag. "Found it."

"You found it?" I marched to him ready to knock the arrogant smile off his face.

"Yep, it was underneath the table. You guys should really work on your searching skills."

I knew for goddamn sure that I had quadruple checked underneath table. Stefan looked there, and so did Caroline and Elena. Everyone but Damon did. And now all of a sudden, he claims to have looked under there and found it? That bitch had my bag the entire time. And he knew that I knew it. He did it just to bother me. And boy, did it bother me. I tried to snatch my bag from him only to have him move it away from me. What the fuck was he doing. We weren't playing keep-away. I wanted my bag now!

"Allow me." Damon moved behind me, slipping the backpack onto my shoulders. His cool hands soothed my burning skin. But no matter how soft, or good his hands felt, I wasn't dumb. I knew how to put on a backpack. Why couldn't he keep his hands to himself? "Good night, Lea," His breath hit my earlobe and I quickly moved away from him. Partially because what he did was a little creepy, and partially because I didn't want him to feel me shiver against him. Damon knew he was sexy, and was gonna use that to his advantage. And why shouldn't he? If you got it, flaunt it. Too bad I wouldn't let him see me give into his crap.

"Well good night everyone." Caroline and I made our exit, and I drove her home. And let me tell you, it was the worst experience in the world. With the constant talking about herself, boys, or singing out of key to whatever Taylor Swift song was playing, Caroline drove me crazy. I didn't know how Damon did it. He deserved a medal, or some type of award because being alone with Caroline for more than two minutes would drive a person bonkers. But taking her home was small fries. The big picture was when would I be killing Damon? I had it all planned out. I'd go to school, hang out with Caroline and Co, and then wait for Damon to come to me. Because I knew he would. Plan, "Kill Damon Salvatore," was now in full effect.


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

I woke with a stretch and a yawn, rubbing the sleep from the eyes. Last night still played in my head, bringing a smile to my face. I had told my parents what happened, leaving names omitted, and they were proud of how I handled the situation. They also warned me to be careful because if Damon knew that I knew he was a vampire, he would come to visit me, but I had already prepared for our next encounter. He would see me sometime late at night, probably while I was hanging at the Mystic Grill, and I would be waiting for him, ready to strike.

Glancing at my clock, I noticed I had enough time to get a good hour long snooze in before I had to get ready for school, but I decided eating cereal was better than sleep. Especially when you have Lucky Charms waiting for you downstairs. Delicious marshmallow goodness beats another hour of shuteye any day.

Walking into the kitchen, I grabbed all the necessary tools in preparing the food. Bowl, spoon, milk, and cereal. Some people needed a nice hot cup of coffee in the morning to get them started, I needed cereal. If I didn't have my daily bowl, there'd be hell to pay later on in the day. A person should always have that one thing that starts their day off with happiness.

I had to go about eating the Lucky Charms the right way. Eat all the grain crap, saving the marshmallows for last. Preparing to shove the first bite in my mouth, I was interrupted by the sound of my doorbell ringing. Bowl of food in hand, I answered the door, readying myself to give the visitor a five star death glare. To my chagrin, the visitor was Damon Salvatore and his stupid smile.

"Good morning." His voice faded as his eyes traveled down my body. I had forgotten I was wearing my Hello Kitty tank and shorts. It wasn't my fault I was wearing this. It was early in the morning, and I thought the pajamas were cute. But now I only felt ridiculous.

"What are you doing here, Damon?" I was three seconds away from shutting the door in his face.

He cleared his throat, "I came here to apologize. I feel responsible for causing the tension at last nights dinner. And it doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out that you don't think very highly of me. So I thought we could, I don't know, start over?"

I would have thought his apology was sincere if he weren't a vampire. And that's when my heart, as if in quicksand, sunk. It was daylight outside, and here he was offering up an apology. Vampires couldn't walk in the sun and that threw a wrench in my plans. I couldn't kill Damon if he wasn't a vampire.

But I was so sure of it. Him being wanting to be invited in. Stefan not wanting him inside the house. The bites on Caroline's neck and her obviously being compelled. It was all too iffy. I called shenanigans.

Realizing Damon's act was very similar to the one he pulled on Elena yesterday night, I tested him once again, "That's very sweet of you Damon. Even if you couldn't wait until a more appropriate time."

Attempting to be cute, he shoved his hands into the pockets of his black jeans, "I couldn't sleep. And I think that any time is appropriate for an apology."

"Well then," I fully opened up the door and stepped back a few feet, "you say you're a hug person. What better way to get over our problems then to give me a hug."

He frowned, and I knew I had won. He used some voodoo shit that allowed him to walk in the sunlight. But he was still a damn vampire. He just bent the rules here and there.

"I told you that I'm old fashioned. Invite me in and you can get all the hugs you want." He tried to salvage the web of lies he told, but I knew better.

"Oh come on, Damon," I put on my fake act now, "just step over this line and give me my hug."

He frowned removing his hands from his pockets and placing them just outside the edges of my door frame. His once sparkling eyes returned back to being dark. He inched his face towards the inside of my house, but never fully went in.

"Fine, you win. I'm a vampire, is that what you want to hear?"

Yes, it was exactly what I wanted to hear. As a reward, I stuffed my now soggy cereal into my mouth, relishing in its taste. That leprechaun better stay in hiding forever, because once he showed his face, I'd kidnap him, keeping all the pink hearts, yellow moons, orange stars and green clovers for myself, "You know, you sucked at concealing that."

"If Caroline had told me I'd be meeting the Anita Blake of Mystic Falls, I might have done better."

"I prefer Nancy Drew."

"That's beside the point. Don't tell anyone my secret or I kill you."

I laughed. I guess you lose humility once you become a vampire, "You're in no position to tell me what I can and can't do."

"I'd compel you, but you reek of vervain," Thank you vervain ankle bracelet, "And I'd snap your neck right now, if I wasn't sure you'd survive that." Thank you magical toe ring.

Slurping loudly, I finished my food and sat the bowl on the floor, "And you think me just not saying anything will suffice? Oh no Damon, you're smarter than that, think of something else to bribe me with."

"I can offer you me." His sick smirk returned and I groaned. I'd be willing to accept his offer if he wasn't a vampire and such a dick. Maybe if we rip out the fangs, and give him a personality? Nah, Damon would always be an ass.

"Not my type," I flipped my hair over my shoulder and batted my eyes excessively,"And like, I know like, that I'm not like, your type."

"Understatement of the year," Ouch. That hurt. I may have not been a Caroline Forbes or an Elena Gilbert, but at least I was an Aaliyah Thompson. And that counted for something right? Moments passed and I waited for his next bribe, "Make your demands."

"I like this game," I clapped my hands, jumping up and down, "You have to stop drinking from humans completely. I don't care what else you feed from, pull an Edward Cullen, and drink a bunny or something. You also have to break up with Caroline. You've abused this girl long enough."

"What are you gonna do if I choose not to. Open up that bag of yours, pull out a stake, and try to kill me? You wouldn't last five minutes."

I knew he took my bag, but didn't guess that he might have looked in it. No wonder he came over here. He wanted to save himself from a wooden bullet to the face. That was understandable. But him threatening me like that didn't sit too well with me.

"Harm anyone, let me find out that there's another animal attack, I don't care if you didn't even do it, I'm coming for your blood."

He rolled his eyes, pushing himself off the door, "I'd expect you to say something like that. Especially when you're safe and know I can't do anything about it. But how about you come out here and say that to me."

Another threat. I had to let Damon know I wasn't one of the normal girls he had to deal with. I wasn't afraid of him and I was dead serious about my demands. Taking a step outside, Damon's once angry face became stoic. No emotion at all appeared on his features, making it even harder to decipher what his next move was. Shoving him, he stumbled backwards off my porch, "Kill anyone, they could've threatened you or you could've just wanted a midnight snack, you'll have to worry about me."

He grabbed my arm, yanking me like a rag doll toward him. I crashed into his chest and he tilted my chin up so that I was staring him in the eyes, "No killing. No snack. No Caroline. Got it." He shoved me off him, hard enough for me to trip backwards and land on my ass. Granted, my strength was no match to his, and he was faster than I was. But the rabbit didn't win the race did it?

He walked to his car and glanced back at me, "Want a ride to school?"

Standing up I brushed myself off, "No thanks, I wouldn't want Caroline to get jealous that her boyfriend is giving me rides to school. Oh wait, you're breaking up with her today aren't you? Have fun with that."

He drove off and I ran inside. I didn't expect Damon to keep his word, but I wanted to. Instilling my faith in him wasn't an easy task but I would give him the benefit of the doubt just this once. And if he made me look like a fool, he'd pay. He'd regret making me look like dumb ass. I could promise him that.


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

Pulling into the student parking lot, I hopped out of my car and walked towards the school. Today was Mystic Falls football team's first game of the season. That meant the students had even more of a reason to get wasted and do shit they weren't supposed to. Jocks and cheerleaders were dressed in uniform, and everyone seemed extra pumped. I on the other hand, was extra pumped for other reasons. I had given Damon an ultimatum, and was in control of the vampire situation. I potentially saved this town from being shredded alive. I was a little bit of a hero.

"Lea, wait up." Turning around, I saw Elena and Stefan running up towards me, trying to catch up. My hands covered my mouth and I went into shock once I saw Stefan. Damon had preoccupied my mind so much, that I had completely forgotten about having to deal with him. Hopefully Damon was newly turned and didn't get to his brother. Because if he did, Stefan and I would need to talk.

"Hey Elena," I attempted to keep my cool, "Stefan."

Stefan smiled and began to rock back and forth on his heels. His uneasy and awkward gestures only made me more suspicious. Small talk. That's what we needed. Small talk.

"Um, I see you're on the football team, Stefan." I took in his red jersey and how good it looked on him. His body was made for sports so it was only logical for him to play them.

Elena wrapped her arms around him, face filling with pride, "He's a starter. Can you believe it? He went to one practice, and became a starter."

"Impressive." Grabbing harder onto my bag, I wished they went away. Even if I did have to talk to Stefan, I was still on cloud nine from my recent feat with Damon. I needed someone to distract the two so I could slip away from them unnoticed. Caroline! We needed Caroline here. Hopefully she wouldn't fail me and would show up.

"Elena, do you mind giving Lea and I a few minutes? I'll meet up with you in class."

Shit. Elena, say you mind. Say you need him to carry your books or something. Anything.

"Of course not," She shrugged and I frowned, "I think it's good that you two spend some time with each other." With a wink and a smile, Elena left, leaving Stefan and I to chit chat. Rubbing my hands together, I waited for Stefan to begin our conversation. He wanted us alone, he could start our conversation.

"You know about Damon and me."

"Woah," I didn't imagine that he'd be so blunt about it, "way to beat around the bush."

So Stefan _was_ a vampire. This helped very little in my plan to keep the town unharmed. He looked around him, making sure no one was listening. He then proceeded to pull me over to my car and talk very quietly. "I just wanted to say something before Damon got to you."

"We already talked."

Stefan's eyes grew wide and his eyebrows raised damn near to his hairline, "What did he say?"

Trying to calm him down, I patted him on the shoulder, "Don't worry, all is good. I made Damon promise to not hurt anyone else in this town. And if he does, then you won't have a brother anymore."

"Damon actually promised to not do anything?"

"Yup." Stefan now had a puzzled look on his face. He fluctuated between emotions fast.

"While I hope Damon comes through with his promise, I've known him for over a century and he isn't really a rule follower. And I don't mean to offend you Lea, but you're no match for Damon."

I laughed, which made Stefan grab me by the shoulders and stare me in the eyes, "It isn't funny, Lea. Damon is dangerous and I don't want to see you become his next victim. I appreciate you trying to help the town, but I can take it from here."

"You're a vampire too! I can't trust you at all Stefan, and I don't want you around Elena. So I'm going to tell you what I told Damon. Leave this town be, or I'll have to end up coming for you. And you seem like such a nice guy. Why is that by the way? Why don't I get the same vibes from you as I do Damon?"

His hands gripped my shoulders harder, reinforcing how serious he was. If everyone wanted to underestimate my skills then fine, I'd let them. But I'd get the last laugh once the vampires had vervain shoved down their throats, "Aaliyah, what don't you get? You have to stop this now, or I won't be able to save you from him. And you _can_ trust me. The reason you don't get the same feelings from me as you do from Damon is because I'm nothing like him. He preys and feeds on humans. He has no humanity left in him. Believe me Lea and stay the hell away from him. I give you my word, I'll protect the town. Just stay out of it."

"You're hurting me," He removed his hands from me and placed them on his hips, waiting for me to say something. But what could I say? Tell him that I would back off and imagine none of this happened? That'd be impossible. Tell him that I trusted him completely and wouldn't pry into anything anymore? That'd be stupid. I gave him the only answer I found sensible, "I won't lie to you and say I'll back off. because I won't. But I'll give you my trust. Not all of it, but enough. If you want to keep Mystic Falls safe, then I have to respect that. But if you double cross me Stefan so help me god I'll-"

"I swear Lea, you can trust me." I nodded and Stefan went off on his way, leaving me with a ball of regret in my stomach. I wanted to trust him. I wanted to trust Damon. But my spidey senses told me that I couldn't. Someone would betray me, and someone would pay the price.

Lunch, every students favorite class. Of course, there were the students who didn't think lunch qualified to be considered an actual class, but it was. You learned patience as you waited for what seemed like hours to get food. And speaking of food, you learned that quality food was the exact opposite of what they served. You also learned all the latest gossip about who's doing who and who's doing what.

I escaped the cafeteria, opting to eat lunch outside today. Elena of course, wanted me to sit with her and her friends, but I lied and said I needed to study for a test I had. Elena was cool, but I needed time to chill and think. Caroline would prevent that from happening. I also didn't want to deal with a brokenhearted Caroline crying because Damon had dumped her. I needed peace for a while.

It was then when I spotted another Gilbert eating lunch where I was planning on sitting. Jeremy Gilbert, aka The Other Gilbert. While Elena was popular and belonged to the school's elite, Jeremy couldn't have been any different. He was a loner and belonged to what the school would consider social scum. However, I couldn't have disagreed more. Just because Jeremy didn't fit into the popular mold didn't mean he was a freak. I sympathized with the dude.

"Excuse me," I dropped my plate of food by him, watching him take off his headphones (that played screamo music extra loudly by the way) and look up at me with his lost puppy brown eyes, "I seemed to have lost my eyeliner, do you mind if I borrow yours?"

"Haha, very funny, Lea." He smiled and I took a seat by him.

"Why didn't I see you at Elena's dinner yesterday?" I began picking apart the pizza I had ordered.

"Dinner with Elena's friends? Yeah, not gonna happen."

"We could've used you there."

"Right, like Elena would've wanted her stoner little brother to make an appearance. She told me it was a complete disaster though."

I threw the gross pizza on the ground. If I wasn't going to eat that junk, the pigeons surely would, "It wasn't that bad. Would've been better if you were there though."

"Yeah, right."

"I'm serious! You should give yourself more credit, Jer. Your little emo routine isn't fooling me."

Jeremy followed suit and threw his lunch on the ground, watching as the masses of starving birds fought for the meal, "You're just saying that."

"Do I look like I'm the type of person to just say something?"

Silence took over and Jeremy became solemn, "Hey, I'm sorry about your sister. I know how it feels to lose someone you love too."

His words surprised me. I was so wrapped up in my own sorrows, that I had forgotten that the Gilbert's were going through a loss too. I was completely insensitive, "Wow um...thanks. I'm sorry about your parents." Playing with my shoelaces, I asked a question that I needed an answer to, "how do you get over something like that?"

"You never really get over it. You just take one day at a time, I guess."

Here I was, taking lessons from a 15 year old about how to grieve, "You know Jer, you need to give yourself more credit. You aren't as bad as what you think you are."

"You know, Lea, I-" His voice faded and his eyes glued to a figure walking by us. Tyler and Vicki, the two alphas at Mystic Falls High, walked by only to turn around and stop right in front of us when they spotted Jeremy and I.

"Hey Jeremy." Vicki's voice was faint. She didn't want Tyler to hear, I suppose. Who knew what would happen once Tyler's blood started to boil.

"Sup Jeremy," Tyler's arm was planted firmly around Vicki's waist. It was a sign of dominance. A sign that Tyler was currently in the lead for Vicki's affection. His eyes quickly darted to me and he gave me a once over. A cocky smirk appeared on his face, "I see you finally realized Vicki didn't want your loner ass and found someone else. And no offense, girl whose name I don't know, but it was a downgrade."

"Fuck off, Tyler." Jeremy came to my rescue before I could allow any emotion show on my face. First Damon, now Tyler. I got it! I had a face for radio and would never pursue modeling.

"You wanna say that again, Gilbert?" Tyler pushed Vicki away, stepping closer to Jeremy. Jeremy stood up, preparing to say his death wish again. I intervened.

"Really Tyler, don't you have better things to do then fuck with Jeremy. I swear you give that kid more attention then you do Vicki. You sure you're into chicks?" Jeremy busted out into a fit of laughter and Tyler snarled at me.

"Let's just go, babe." Vick grabbed Tyler, pulling him away from us.

"This isn't over, Gilbert."

The two walked away, leaving me to deal with an angry Jeremy, "That guy is such a dick."

"Speaking of Football dicks," I tried to help Jeremy forget about the two, "you going to the big game tonight?"

"And watch that asshole Tyler play? Hell no."

"Let me teach you a little something, Jeremy. You have to learn how to see the big picture. Sure, you may think that you'd be watching Tyler play, but you wouldn't. You and me would go, we'd chit chat about the latest Escape the Fate album or whatever, and somehow you and I would get separated."

"But where would I-"

"Shh! This is the best part of the plan," Shutting Jeremy up, I continued, "I would go off and go home. But you, you'd be flirting with Vicki."

He laughed, "How would this plan even work."

"I can't tell you everything you have to do. I just know that Vicki would be on the sidelines watching Tyler play, you'd come up and flirt with her, potentially winning her over with your charms. I'm assuming that's what she likes about you. So you'd be winning points with Vicki all while Tyler gets his ego hurt because she's interested in you when she should be interested in watching him play. It's a win-win!"

He shrugged his shoulders and a goofy grin appeared on his face, "I'll give it a try."

"Yay!" I hugged him and on cue, the bells rang. We parted and I went off to my next class. Jeremy on the other hand, went off to do shit that I didn't want to know about.

I walked down the bleachers, watching as plan Eliminate-Tyler-Lockwood was in full effect. Ahh, the drunken faux frat boys, the Friday night lights, how could I have not wanted to see this. I had to admit though, spending time with Jeremy was fun. Watching him mock the jocks and every other clique imaginable was funny. I just hoped our plan would work out. Even if Jeremy was too good for Vicki.

"I was worried that you had no humanity left inside of you. That you may have actually become the monster that you pretend to be." Getting ready to go home, I overhead Stefan and Damon talking in the parking lot. Crouching down so I went unseen, I snooped in on their conversation.

"Who's pretending?" Damon smirked and Stefan raised his arms.

"Then kill me."

"Well, I'm tempted." My heart skipped a beat. Stefan really was on my side. He wanted this town safe just as much as I did.

"No you're not. You've had lifetimes to do it and yet, here I am. I'm still alive. And there you are, you're still haunting me. After one hundred and forty-five years. Katherine is dead!" Who the fuck was Katherine? "And you hate me because you loved her. And you torture me, because you still do. And that, my brother, that is your humanity."

I could never imagine Damon ever loving someone. He didn't possess feelings or emotions. He was self centered and opportunistic.

"Salvatore!" The football coach yelled, stomping towards them, "What the hell, we have a game to play!"

Damon smiled and shivers ran up my spine, "If that's my humanity, then what's this?" Damon, faster then my eyes could keep up with, moved to the football coach, and sunk his fangs into his neck.

"NO!" Stefan yelled but Damon continued. Growls escaped from Damon as cries escaped from the coach. I forced my hand over my mouth, preventing them from hearing me. Damon lied to me. He didn't care about anyone but himself. And here I was, looking like a fool. I didn't know what to do. I couldn't kill Damon right there on the spot so all I did was hope that Stefan could handle the situation.

"Anyone. Anytime. Anyplace." Damon's eyes were black and veins popped from underneath them. Hot tears fell onto my hand as I sat in the bushes motionless.

"Damon you have to stop!" Stefan attempted to regain control over Damon but it was too late.

"Whose gonna stop me? You, Elena, how about that one girl Lea. _Mmm Mmm Mmm_, she seems tasty. She knows our secret by the way. And she was very adamant about wanting to keep this town unharmed. Why she even thinks that I'm going to stop killing people, I don't know. Why should I stop being who I am? To prevent a few untimely deaths?"

"You're psychotic, Damon. You can't continue to do this."

"You forget that you and I were once the same kind of person. So don't get all high and mighty on me now Stefan, just because you-"

"I found salvation. Something worth living for. You one the other hand, are just sad."

Damon scowled and his eyes went back to normal. He wanted to taste my blood huh? All he'd be tasting is my fist in his mouth, "Oh come on now, Stefan. You can't tell me you don't miss those days. It could happen again you know? We could be a team."

"Enough, Damon. This has to end. You can't fucking kill everyone that you have a slight interest in." Stefan inched up to Damon, anger flowing out of his mouth.

"I don't take interest in all of them. Especially Caroline. My god, could that woman get anymore annoying?" Damon found all of this a game. He wanted to antagonize Stefan all while getting what he wants. It was a...win-win situation for him.

"I'm not going to say this again, leave them alone or you'll answer to me."

"Wow, two threats in a day." Damon sang, "I wonder whose going to get to me first, you or Lea. Doesn't matter whose first though, because both of you will die. I'll rip you limb from limb, and as for Lea, I'll drain her dry. You won't be able to tell her apart from the Sahara when I'm done with her. I've never had a hunter before."

"Damon..." Stefan grabbed him by the collar and Damon peeled his hands off him.

"Calm down, little bother. I don't plan on doing anything, yet. And you should really be checking up on Elena before she sees this sight. She's gonna need her knight in shining armor." Stefan ran off to find Elena, and before I could do anything, Damon left too.

I sat in the bushes, back against a metal fence, hands still covering my mouth. How could Damon have done something like that? To have no regard over anyone, not even his brother, was cruel. He had to be stopped. He had to be taken care of. So to answer Damon's question of who was gonna get to him first? It was me.


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8

The Salvatore boarding house was large and robust. And it was easy for me to find out where it was located. All I had to do was ask Elena the address and tell her I needed it so I could drop off the notes Stefan loaned to me for history class. It was that simple.

Standing on their porch, I admired the beautiful house. Tall trees and shrubbery masked the entrance way. A stone pathway would help those who got lost on their way. It was gorgeous to say the least.

With shaking hands, I rang the doorbell over and over, waiting for someone to answer. Anxiousness took over all emotions in me. This would be the first time I killed someone and I was nervous as hell. Patting the overly large pockets on my cargo pants, I made sure I had everything I needed to make Damon's death quick and easy.

Damon finally opened the door, and I wasn't ready for the sight he bestowed upon me. He was shirtless and as sexy as ever. I'd never seen a body so beautiful. Long, even, and toned, Damon was just perfect. Black jeans caressed his hips adoringly and left my mind to wonder what lied just a few inches down...

"What a surprise. What are you doing here, Lea?" His voice was hoarse and groggy. He was still half asleep. Good.

"What took you so long?" I ignored his question for obvious reasons and slid past him into his house. It was bigger than I imagined.

"I had to find a pair of jeans, unless you wanted to see me...indecent." He was still a dick even when he was sleepy, "How did you find out where I lived?"

"Same way you found out where I lived." I still didn't know the answer to that question. Dude had to have been a stalker.

"Fair enough. What do you want?" Noticing that his jeans weren't buttoned, I saw a tiny peak of grey boxers. Controlling myself, I bit my lip.

"Just wanted to talk, geeze. We're friends now aren't we?"

He gave me a puzzled look before sitting down on the couch, "Ok, fine, let's talk."

"How did Caroline take it when you broke up with her?"

"She was crushed. Begged me to take her back, but since you and I made a deal, I did what you told me to."

Bingo! Perfect segue to what I really wanted to talk about, "Speaking of deals, you haven't killed anyone have you."

Again with the puzzled look. Damon looked me straight in the eye and lied to my face, "Of course I didn't. Why would I when I know that would be betraying your trust?"

I sighed, rubbing my hands over my shoulders, regretting that I decided to wear a black wife beater. Antarctica was warmer then the Salvatore manor, "I dunno. I just figured you would, since you were so powerful."

"You should have faith in me not to betray you like that."

"I just don't know, Damon. You're so strong. I mean, if I were that strong, I'd have a completely mentality. I'd think more so, anyone. Anytime. Anyplace."

His eyes bulged out as he came to the realization of why I was here, "Now just here me out for a second-"

Before he could finish his statement, I had already pulled out the pair of pistols I stashed in the front of my pants, and fired off rounds at him. The shots were loud and forced me to cringe, but I continued to fire until there'd be more holes in him than a colander. Adrenaline racing through me, I looked to see what mess I had made. Goose feathers were scattering everywhere, but Damon was nowhere to be found. Reaching into my pockets, I pulled out more wooden bullets, and began reloading my gun,

"Now I know what you're thinking, Damon, 'How'd she figure this out? Stefan must've told her!' But he didn't. I was there and witnessed the whole thing. You fucked me over, Damon. You came to my house, promised me shit, and then you-"

An intense, sharp pain came over me as I felt my head collide with the glass table in front of me. Feeling my hair being ripped from my scalp, I screamed as Damon dragged my away from the broken table, tossing me around his house like I was weightless, "Come on now, Lea," He snatched the guns from my hands, tossing them across the room, "don't let there be two dead sisters."

That was low, even for Damon. Pain filled my heart as if it was me who had been staked. He thought that comment would weaken me, but it did the exact opposite. I wasn't like the other girls he had played mind games with. I was Aaliyah Thompson, who came from a long line of vampire hunters. I was bred into it, making me able to spot vampires from a mile away. I was stronger, faster and a bit smarter than the average human. And he was Damon Salvatore, who wouldn't be leaving this house alive. Reaching into my pockets, my fingers scrambled to find something to use against him. Vervain spray in hand, I spayed his face until it sizzled like water on a hot griddle.

"Fuck!" He growled and I jumped to my feet, wiping the blood that dripped from my skull off my face. Spraying him again, I kicked him as hard as I could in his stomach, watching him fly back colliding into a wall. Damon's body matched my face as blood ran from the bullet wounds on his shoulder, stomach and chest. At least I didn't miss too badly.

While Damon tried to recuperate from my assault, I ran to grab my guns. Searching for where he had thrown them, I dived for the first one I saw. Trying to take hold of one them, Damon grabbed my leg and pulled me over to him. His hand gripped my throat as he slung me against a wall with enough force for my bones to feel like they shattered against the impact. Raising me up high, so that my feet were no longer on the ground, I looked down into his onyx eyes. Trickles of my blood dripped from my chin, landing onto the outer edges of his lips. His tongue crept out of his mouth, flicking against my blood that had stained his lips. With a sneer, he lowered me down to his eye level and if his eyes could have been any blacker, they would've been. I knew he was going to bite me. I knew I had lost the battle. I'd become the latest victim of an animal attack and the truth would still be a secret.. Balling my hands up, I felt cold hard metal in my hand. If I were able to give a sigh of relieve, I would've, but his hand gripping my throat prevented that. I had grabbed one of the guns before Damon had gotten to me. I wasn't going to die just yet. Quicker than he pinned me to the wall, I had cocked my pistol, and pressed it against his head.

Damon smirked as he felt the gun dig into the side of his head, "I wonder which is faster, me snapping your neck, or you shooting me."

I accepted his challenge, readying myself to pull the trigger, "We're about to find out."


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9

_**Comments would mean the world to me. Enjoy! **_

"Oh my god Lea, you just couldn't stay away from my boyfriend," Caroline raged into the room, moving a few yards away from Damon and I, "And ew, why are you two bleeding?"

There Caroline was, in a pink lacey baby doll slip, completely oblivious to what was going on. Her disheveled hair was scattered in every direction like octopus, legs and she had a weird glow to her...she had stayed the night.

"Get the fuck out of here, Caroline." I grit between my teeth. I couldn't kill Damon in front of her. I didn't want her to know what it was like to watch someone die in front of you. And I didn't want her mom to have to deal with that. Damon on the other hand, could kill me, compel Caroline not to say anything, and go on with his day like nothing happened. He was in the driver seat.

Capitalizing on his vampire speed, Damon let go of my throat and ran over to Caroline. Body crashing onto the floor like I was a human basketball, I pointed my gun at them both, aiming for between Damon's eyes.

"What are you two doing?" Caroline's voice was shaky and hitched. Damon stood behind her and moved the hair covering her neck to the other side.

"Damon, bite her and I'll shoot." It's funny how life is. Caroline's mom tried to prevent me from knowing about vampires, and here I was about to prevent Caroline from being killed. It's just oh so funny.

Wrapping his arm around Caroline, Damon stopped her from struggling against him, "You think you're actually going to kill me? Oh no Aaliyah, you're smarter than that, think of something to bribe me with." The words floated off his lips and cut me worse than the glass embedded in my forehead ever could. He was replaying the events that happened earlier between him and I. Only this time, _I_ was the vulnerable one. Vindictive prick.

"I can offer you me." I mocked what he had said to me, just so he could see how big off an ass he was being.

"Seriously you guys," Caroline was still trying to fight her way off Damon, "what's going on?"

"Deal." Damon ignored Caroline and kept his eyes glued on me. So I'm sure he saw just how baffled I was looking.

"What?"

"You offered yourself to me, and I accepted."

I didn't know if it were from the blood loss, or if the wooden bullets had gotten to him quickly, but Damon had gone crazy, "I take it back."

"Oh come on Aaliyah, isn't this what you wanted? To save these people?" He snatched Caroline's face into his hands, squishing it until she had fish face, "Be the martyr you've always dreamed on becoming. Give up yourself to me, and I can assure you, the animal attacks will cease."

Desperation filled me completely. To the point where I thought I was surely leaking it onto his floor. Did I want to keep Mystic Falls safe? Most definitely. Did I want to do that by compromising my values? Most certainly not. But I wasn't in any position to deny him, "Compel Caroline to forget all of this."

"Without a doubt."

"And no more animal attacks?"

"Zero."

I dropped my gaze to the floor and reluctantly lowered my gun, "Deal."

"Caroline," Damon's voice changed pitch, "You are going to forget everything that you've seen here. You're going to get your shit out of my room, and go home. When you wake up, you're going to think you and I had a huge fight, and broke up. You're crushed, but will eventually get over it. Now go."

Footsteps, which I would assume were Caroline's, creaked on the wooden floors as they went up steps. A crash. A loud thud resounded as a body hit the floor. Pushing back the hair that fell in front of my face, I saw Damon, curled into some crescent shape, on the ground. Trying to raise my gun so I could finish him off, I couldn't. The gun felt like it weighed a ton and I didn't have the strength to lift it.

"Shit," I muttered before I, much like Damon, laid on the ground. I was weak. Weak and in pain. Closing my eyes, I wished the suffering away. The only temporary relief, was giving in to what my body wanted me to do. Sleep.

Eye fluttering open, I quickly sat up and checked my surroundings. Dimmed lights, outdated furniture, tacky color scheme? Yup, I was still at the Salvatore boarding house. But I didn't feel the same pain I felt before I passed out. In fact, it was quite the opposite. I felt amazing. Invigorated. Like I could go out and run a decathlon if I wanted to.

"Good morning," Damon appeared out of nowhere and I sneered. He was still shirtless but looked a lot better than before. His wounds were all gone, "well actually it's the afternoon but, you get the picture."

"Why do I feel so much better?" Eying him suspiciously, I prayed for a different answer than what I suspected it to be.

"Because I'm here." He smiled.

I frowned, "Damon..."

"I fed you some of my blood." He said it as if it were nothing. Like feeding me his blood wouldn't drive me crazy. But instead of breaking every piece of ugly furniture in the house, I kept my composure.

"If I hate vampires, and I just tried to kill you, then why would you go and do something like that?"

He sat beside me, ice eyes twinkling with joy, "Because you and I, regardless of what you may think, are friends now. I scratch your back, you scratch mine. This time a little more literally than metaphorically." He turned around, showing me his back. While I had thought he had gotten all the bullets from out of him, I was wrong. His back had a cluster of them inside it, forming some oddly shaped constellation.

"No."

"Please?" Smirking, Damon handed me a pair of tweezers, alcohol, cotton bolls, a metal pan, and a bottle of bourbon, "Ah," He snatched the bourbon away, "that's for me."

I began taking the bullets out, dropping each one into the pan, "I did pretty good for my first time."

He opened the bottle of booze, drinking it straight from the bottle barbarian style, instead of using a glass, "So I was your first? How'd I do?"

Ignoring the stupid innuendo, I continued to pick at his wounds, "I should be asking you the same thing."

"Well," He took another swig, "You get an 'A' for effort, but you really didn't plan it through well enough. I mean, what did you think was going to happen? You catch me off guard and then just kill me? That was a tad stupid."

"I couldn't chance you killing another person just because I was plotting."

"Understood." There was a brief pause before he continued speaking, "Look, about the comment I made earlier, the one about the two dead sisters thing, that was in bad taste. I was angry, you were angry, let's put it all behind us."

Sighing, I shook the bottle of alcohol. I wasn't going to even ask how he found out about that. Stefan or Caroline must've told him. But the fact that he had the balls to say something like that to me, pissed me off. I did the only thing I could do, try and hurt him as much as he did me,"You know, since we're friends, it's fine. Besides, I'm sure you're just still pmsing from Katherine's death all those years ago. How long did Stefan say you were haunting him for? A hundred and forty some odd years? _Woooooow_. That must've been some good-"

Damon turned around, grabbed my wrist, and dug his nails into it. He was hurt by my comment. Good. Now we were square.

"There, you got me back." Flinging my wrist away, Damon turned his back to me again, and I resumed dabbing alcohol on his bruises, "But let's not bring up shit we have no idea about."

"I won't if you won't." I dropped the tray of items he gave me onto the floor and stood, "Now, I got shit I have to do so um, later."

Damon jumped to his feet, stopping me from leaving. Eyebrows furrowed, I wondered what he wanted. I didn't have anything to fend him off with so now would've been the perfect time for him to attack, "You and I had a deal. You give me your blood, and I, out of the kindness of my heart, won't hurt the town. And right now, I am still suffering from the effects your little bullets have on me, so, I'm gonna need a quick drink from you before you head off."


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter 10

_**Comments would mean the world to me. Enjoy! **_

Damon cocked his eyebrow and gave me a lopsided grin. Did he expect me to try and run away? Kick and scream? Make a big fuss? That would do nothing but force us to fight again. And I wasn't up for a round two. Not yet. However, while one plan failed, another one would be in the works soon enough.

"Ok, so how do you want this?" Sitting back down onto the couch, I looked up to see Damon with a very displeased face. Good.

"You're just going to...hand yourself over?" His thumbs were looped inside his belt holes and I waited for him to sit down so my face wasn't at eye level with his waist.

"We had an agreement, didn't we?" Smoothing my hair down I tried my hardest to not let him know how I really felt. On the outside, I wanted to have a nice, calm attitude. But on the inside, my flood was boiling. I failed my parents, I failed my sister, and things didn't go according to plan. Damon's head was supposed to be on a silver platter and I was supposed to be leaving his house victorious. Oh, he'd pay.

"I was hoping you'd put up more of a struggle." So he _was_ hoping for a fight. Jesus Christ.

"Sorry, no foreplay for you, Damon." He gave a slight chuckle before he finally sat back down. I was gonna make this as boring as ever for him. Everything he wanted it to be, I wouldn't give him. It was going to be more plain than a vanilla ice cream cone.

"It's just that the struggle makes the blood taste better. Not that I'm complaining about yours. Yours is by far, the best. The crème de la crème of blood."

I rolled my eyes, "I guess you should thank my hunter bloodline for that."

"Oh yeah, you're a Thompson. I guess that makes your parents hunters too. Make sure to keep them out of our business. We wouldn't want to chance what might happen if they found out now would we?" His smile irked me to no end. Worse than any Miley Cyrus single ever could. It's like he kept it handy and used it at the exact moments he knew it would make my skin crawl.

"We're gonna get this over with now, Damon."

"Fine with me." Damon grabbed my thighs, pulling forward until my back was sliding against the couch cushions. Before I had the chance to say anything, he placed my legs on either side of him, and leaned forward, meshing our bodies together like we fit each other perfectly. I heard him take in a deep breath before diving in for my neck...

"Woah!" I shoved his face away from me, "What the fuck are you doing?"

His eyes, the color of tar stared into mine and I could make out my reflection perfectly, "What?" Was Damon really that stupid or was he trying to be a douche? Not having the time to ask, I stuck out my wrist.

"You only get wrist action. I don't know where the fuck you got the notion you'd be getting any neck vein from me."

He removed himself from me, and I sat up, "Fine. No necks. Got it." He lowered his mouth onto my wrist and placed a delicate kiss on it.

"_Aww,_ you're so sweet." I feigned a cute voice before returning to my normal, angry self, "Now let's hurry this up?"

Feeling his fangs pierce my wrist caused me to flinch, but Damon yanked me back towards him. It felt like I was unwillingly getting two very bad tetanus shots in my hand. My heart raced like it was in a match against Barbaro, and I felt the vein in my wrist pound worse than the bass to a lame techno song. I was uncomfortable as hell. What was worse was hearing the growls Damon made as he fed from me. And feeling my blood leave me and enter his mouth was all the more disgusting.

A few minutes, which felt like hours, passed by. I hummed a little tune, thought about the homework I didn't do, and how I was going to kill Damon. Act nice now, watch him bake in the sun later. I needed patience. They say all good things come to those who wait. So that's what I'd do. Wait it out now, and strike later. As he finished, he cleaned the blood that dribbled onto his chin off with he fingers and then proceeded to suck them clean. Way to gloat asshole.

"All done." His eyes went back to their normal blue and he noticed the scowl on my face, "Oh come on, it wasn't that bad."

I continued giving him my scowl before he bit onto his finger. A crimson drop of blood formed in the center of his finger pad, and he rubbed it against the bite marks. "There, so now mommy and daddy won't have to try and kill me."

I watched as the marks magically disappeared before laying back down onto the couch. All the things that had happened were beginning to make my brain begin to thrash against my skull, "You give me a headache."

"That's what happens when you're bitten. You need something to eat." Damon grabbed my hand and lifted me off the couch, "Let's go into the kitchen and find you something."

I yanked my hand back. He had to be kidding, "I am not about to have brunch with you Damon. That's just not going... stop looking at me like that. I said no."

"If you don't eat anything, the pain will just get worse." He lead me into his kitchen without waiting for me to protest. And it was magnificent. Taupe colored counter tops that felt like marble outlined the entire room. Walnut colored cabinets framed upper half of the kitchen. A wide window overlooking lush green acres sat parallel to a kitchen island with a bowl of colorful fruit in it. It was nothing like the lame furniture in his living room. It was breathtaking.

"Have a seat." He sat me at the island before moving to the opposite side, "What do you want to eat?" He was going to make it for me? Yeah, and lace that shit with cyanide.

"Why are you being so nice?" I questioned. This was completely out of character for him to do. He wanted me to suffer. This was just the cherry on top of his victory milkshake.

"I'm always nice. You just didn't get a chance to experience nice Damon because you decided to kill me."

"I did try to be nice, but you didn't respect our deal at all. I mean, you could've at least broken up with Caroline."

"Let's not dwell on the past because that's behind us, Lea. Now, what do you want? Anything your little heart desires, I'll make come true."

Facetious dick. Everyone who knew Damon, the true Damon, knew that he was incapable of being nice. That left him as soon as his mortality did. But if he wanted to be an asshole, so could I, "I would like," I cleared my throat, "cinnamon apple crepes, scrambled eggs, sausage, links not patties, and is there any chance that you have baguettes?"

My assholism got me rewarded with another famous Damon Salvatore grin. He held up his index finger, "One bowl of cereal coming up."

Little did he know, a bowl of cereal was more appealing than anything else I had mentioned. I'm a girl with simplistic taste. And cereal was always amazing. He reached for bowls and spoons and I noticed the pair of dimples in his lower back. Those were amazing too.

"Ok, so we have Raisin Bran and Special K."

"What!" As soon as those words left his lips, I felt the worst pain in my stomach. Like I had been hit by a car, "What type of fucking cereals are those? Where are the marshmallows? The vibrant colors? The sexy mascots? I'll even take Rice Krispies if you've got them. At least those tasteless motherfuckers pop."

"Really Lea," He held both boxes in his hand waiting for me to choose, "does it look like I'm a cereal man?"

No. No it didn't. It seemed like all he did was work out. He made sure to have his body looking good before he was turned. I didn't blame him, "Just give me the Raisin Bran."

He fixed me a bowl of cereal before getting himself an apple. He really was going to do this. Continue the facade like he was really some new gentle hearted person. We'd see how gentle his heart was once I ripped it out of him and stopped it like a maggot.

"What's so funny?" It was then when I realized my mouth had twitched into a smile and that Damon was wearing one identical to mine. The difference was, I wasn't smiling because I was happy. I was smiling because I couldn't wait to think of all the little plans my mind could possible conjure up that would end with Damon dying.

"I'm having brunch with a vampire." Yes, I lied.

"My first time having brunch with a hunter. I guess the saying is true, there's a first time for everything."

I plopped another spoonful into my mouth, cringing at the bland flavor. If it's safe to say Raisin Bran has any flavor at all. Who the fuck wants fruit in cereal? "It's a shame I hate you."

"You hate me because I'm not Mr. Nice guy. I'm pretty sure what you're looking for is this," His eyebrows met his eyes and his lips thinned out giving him a brooding look, "Lea, Damon is a monster, stay away from him," He began to mock his brother, "I don't know what I'd do if he were to hurt you. I'll protect this town, because I'm a do gooder who attends high school during the day, and fights the evil vampires at night."

I couldn't help myself from laughing. His interpretation of Stefan was spot on, "Our conversation went something like that."

"It went exactly like that."

"It's amazing, you and your brother are completely different." I insulted.

"Ain't that the truth."

He frowned and I almost felt badly for him. Who knew what happened in the past between those two. Or who this Katherine girl was. But I wasn't going to ask because it wasn't my place. And partially because I didn't care. If only he weren't a cynical bastard, I might have tried to make him feel better.

"So about our little blood situation." His mood changed drastically within the next few seconds.

"There goes the Damon we all know and love. I knew he was hiding within that nice facade of yours."

"Every Monday and Friday will be Damon Lea day. I'm busy on Tuesday and I need my weekends so we'll do this little blood thing those two days."

I shrugged, "Monday and Friday, sounds like fun." Too bad that would never be happening. Damon could think that I would be handing over my blood all he wanted to, but I hope he didn't think I would do it willingly. Today was the first and last time.

"You know, this isn't how I envisioned this going. You're being mature about this."

I gave him what he wanted,"Oh my god, Damon, how could you do this to me?" Dabbing the imaginary tears from my eyes, I continued, "You said you weren't going to hurt anyone, and you did. You lied to me, Damon! I'll never forgive you for this. Never ever ever. And now you want to bite me? How could-"

"Ok, I get it. Bring back old Aaliyah, I miss her."

"You just better keep your promise this time because if you don't, you'll have something far more wicked coming your way. You could hardly beat me when I didn't plan. Let's not find out what would happen if I did." I finished my food and went to grab my bag, "Thanks for the cereal, Damon. I enjoyed our time together today. I felt as if we really did bond."

"Anytime Lea." He returned the same sarcasm I was giving him, "We should do this more often."

"We will, every Monday and Friday." I gave him a faux happy grin before I left. Realizing I didn't have enough time to go back to school to get a decent amount of education, I decided to hide out at the movie theater. Hopefully my parents wouldn't find out about me skipping school to hang out with a vampire. God, that didn't go according to plan. Damon wasn't dead, and I had become his main source of food. At least I was a step closer to preventing any more vampire attacks. Even if it was only a baby step.

But Lord have mercy on Damon's soul for deciding to bite me. That would be the worst decision he made in all of his nonliving years of living. He thought he was going to one up me? He thought I wasn't going to put up a real fight? Then he obviously underestimated me. Damon might have won todays battle, but he damn sure wasn't gonna win the war.


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter 11

_**Thank you so much for those who commented. Comments are my bread and butter.  
>Enjoy the chapter. <strong>_

Damon's POV

I made myself comfortable on the couch, recollecting the events that took place in my house not too long ago. Gunshots, blood, and cereal. What did all these things have in common? Aaliyah Thompson. The self proclaimed vampire hunter. She thought that barging into my place would be enough to kill me? And while it was quite the little surprise, even getting up pretty early in the morning wouldn't suffice.

"_You could hardly beat me when I didn't plan. Let's not find out what would happen if I did."_

Oh but we _would _be finding out little miss Lea. Two days. That's how long I'd give her to plot. Today was Saturday and our next blood schedule was Monday. That was an ample amount of time to have her try to plan something. And I anticipated what she had planned. Would she tell her parents? Spike her blood with vervain? Try to kill me again? The thrill of hunt was more delectable than her blood was. And was her blood fucking delicious. Not a single drop would go to waste while she was with me.

Hopefully she thought that I was really buying into her good girl act. Then again, I hoped she was acting. If she really was going to simply hand herself over, then she wasn't who I thought she was. If I wanted a docile, submissive woman I would have continued to fuck Caroline. Lea didn't seem like the type who was submissive. Her mustering up enough backbone to try and kill me was the grain of rice in the pudding.

All I had to do was now conjure up a plan of my own, which took little to no time at all, and prepare for Lea to spring it into action. I took a sip of bourbon from my glass, reveling in its strong flavor. Whiskey always got the creative juices flowing.

"What the hell happened here, Damon?" A sullen, angry, judgy voice yelled.

"How was school, Stefan?" I turned to see him standing in the middle of the crime scene. His hands were gripping his sides and his forehead was brooding as usual.

"What the hell happened?" His voice grew in pitch. So easy to anger.

"Where's the Katherine clone?"

His hands were no longer on his waist, and he was no longer by the broken glass and blood. He was now peering down at me, and his hands had found a new home around the collar of my black shirt.

"What the fuck happened, Damon!"

"Calm down, little brother." I removed his hands from me figuring that breaking each one off was a little too extreme, "Lea came to visit."

"My god Damon. How could-"

"Oh spare me of the I'm-a-monster diatribe for once. Nothing happened." We inspected the room together. Shards of glass, some pieces big, some as small as diamonds, sparkled and scattered about on the ground like shreds of confetti. Blood. Some drops, some rather large, accentuated the wooden floor and stained random pieces of furniture, "Lea is safe and sound at home." For now at least.

"I knew she wouldn't stay away." He shoved his hands into his pockets giving me his signature disappointed face, "I prayed that she would. But deep down inside I knew she'd do this. And you just had to be the usual asshole you are."

"Me?" I finished the last of my drink, wishing it were never ending. If I didn't already enjoy bourbon, pedestal loving Stefan surely would have made it happen, "She came to _my_ house, shot at me with _her _guns, and tried to fucking kill me. If I were a human, I'd have the right to snap the little bitches neck. Self defense right?"

"How can you be so complacent about how severe the situation is, Damon? She is not a play toy for you to break out whenever you get bored. She is a human. Just as we once were."

Oh lord. I didn't have the time nor the care to listen to another redundant Stefan sermon. How could he have thought that I would change anytime soon, "But I do care Stefan. I've changed."

"Oh really, how?"

"Lea and I, after out little battle, had a good talk. She offered me something so invaluable that I had no choice but to accept. It was enough to make me not kill anyone in the town ever again." That wasn't a lie. Lea's blood was beyond compare, and Damon Salvatore was not one to settles for something of lesser quality, "And don't ask what it is. It's none of your business."

Stefan shoved his hands over his face, veiling his emotions. But it didn't take much effort for me to figure out what was coming next, "You haven't changed in the slightest, Damon. And I don't know why I bother."

Anger finally sparked inside me and I snapped, "Let's talk about you, Stefan. Have you actually changed?"

"How could you even ask me that, of course I've changed."

"Let's prove it then," Grabbing his hand, I dragged Stefan over to where traces of Lea's blood were. Stefan, realizing what I was about to do, struggled against me as I began to coat his hand in the substance that was now thickening like glue. Sorry Stefan, but feeding on bunnies and chipmunks would never give you the upper hand, "You may think that you're so fucking superior. With your new found ability to control yourself and have restraint. But let's see how far your control goes shall we?"

I began waving his fingers in front of his face, watching his eyes stay focused on the blood dripping down them, "You see this blood on your fingers? This is Lea's blood. The best blood I've had in a very, very long time. I don't know if it's because she's a hunter, or a virgin, or because she's black. And to be honest, I don't fucking care. It's the cotton candy of blood. And you're_ gonna_ taste it."

"Damon stop!" He snapped out of his daze and continued fighting against me.

I ran his hand over his lips, letting the blood blanket his mouth, "And you know, I'm not one to share, but seeing as though whenever I look into your eyes, I see desperation, that hunger you try so hard to keep at bay, I'm gonna be generous." My free hand gripped the back of his neck, lowering his face down to the puddle just until the tip of his nose touched it, "We're gonna find out just how strong you are, little brother. Everyone knows you want just _one_ drop of that blood on creep its way inside of your mouth. Admit it. There's no problem with wanting that to happen. Let it dance a fucking tarantella of deliciousness on your taste buds for all I care. But don't expect me to sit here watching you act like something your not. Don't expect me to think that you're not at your wits end trying to contain the animal you once were. That animal you once loved to be. You're a vampire, Stefan, start acting like it."

I shoved him hard onto the ground, watching as his body collided with the crimson ooze. Stefan laid there, doing nothing, and saying nothing, "Oh, ok, I get it, don't want to give me the satisfaction of watching you lick the blood from the floor like a dog? Fine by me. I'll think I go outside for a breath of fresh air. I don't know, maybe I'll even go for a walk around the block. See ya soon, Stefan."

Stepping over his fallen body, I made my way out the house. Stefan's gloomy disposition almost caused me to forget the real issue at hand. Lea Thompson. Did she think she had me fooled? If she did, then she needed to go back to Vampire Hunting 101 because what I had in store for her would be far worse than anything she could ever fantasize in that little mind of hers.


	12. Chapter 12

Chapter 12

_**Your comments meant the world to me. Leave a comment and tell me what you liked and what I should be doing better. Much love. **_

"So how have things been with hunting, Lea?" My mom passed the mashed potatoes to my father. Dinner time conversations with mom and dad were priceless.

I rolled a pea around with my fork playing a match of plate hockey with myself, "Just fine."

My dad, staring hungrily at his plate, also began to question me, "You're hunting vampires Aaliyah, just fine doesn't cut it."

"Well, I've been patrolling around the town every night like you said to do, and I've found nothing." I had to lie to them. Telling them about Damon wouldn't have done anything but prove that I was a shitty hunter. That I obviously was a failure at it. I didn't want them to get involved with what was supposed to be _my_ kill. Call me stupid or too proud, I don't care.

But I needed a plan. Anything. But there wasn't anything I could do alone that he wouldn't have already guessed. Damon was crafty and manipulative. That was a deadly combination. Telling my parents was an obvious choice, drinking vervain was the easy way out, and recklessly trying to kill him wouldn't cut it. I had to be just as crafty and manipulative as he was, if not more.

"Just let us know if you need-"

The doorbell rung and silenced my mom. We all sat at the dinner table looking at each other, waiting for someone to make a move.

"I'll just get it." Excusing myself from the table, I went to answer the door. They could've went to get it, lazy assholes.

Opening the door, I got an unwelcomed surprise.

"Hey Lea," Stefan whispered and gave me an awkward smile. You know, the ones when someone smiles, but there's nothing to be happy about.

"Oh my god, Stefan." I looked behind me to make sure my parents didn't move from the table in the kitchen. Sliding the door until it was open just a crack, I was at a loss for words.

Stefan repositioned himself so his eyes faded green eyes were the only things I could see, "We need to talk."

"Is something wrong, Lea?" My mom called from the kitchen. Thank god she didn't get up, "Who's there?"

I quickly thought of a lie, "It's just Elena mom. She needs to talk. I'll be back in a few minutes," Grabbing a random hoodie from the coat rack, I quickly joined Stefan outside, "How could you have just come here like that? You're so lucky my parents didn't answer, cause that would've been your ass. I might not get vibes from you, but I'm only on level one. They're level one million."

Stefan took hold of my arm, pulling me in close to him. As the space between us diminished, my concern grew. "Why would you go and try to kill Damon?"

My eyes shifted to my feet. I should've thought to put on shoes instead of coming out barefoot. The mosquitoes would be having me for dinner tonight, "So Damon told you about what happened?"

"I told you not to, and you did it anyway. Do you know what could've happened to you while you were there? Damon could've killed you."

I didn't know what to say, "But he didn't."

Stefan's grip tightened around me, "How the fuck do you think I would've felt Lea? To know that I tried to stop you from getting killed but I couldn't?"

"I...I don't know." I didn't really give that idea much thought.

"It was stupid, and you're not going to do that ever again."

I sighed, "Look can we do this somewhere my parents won't here us?"

Without me taking a breath, or even blinking an eye, Stefan and I were no longer standing on the porch of my house. We were sitting on the benches in Mystic Falls Park. Children laughed and played while they got their last bits of joy out of the day before it was time for them to go home. The sky, vivid shades of gold and tangerine, was transitioning dark shades of blues and purples as the sun began to set.

"How's Elena been?" I tried to strike up a conversation.

He ran his hand through his hair, "We're good."

Wow, that surprised me. Elena didn't seem like the type who would just willingly accept knowing someone was a vampire, "She isn't a little concerned about you being a vampire?"

Stefan stared at me with those muted green eyes once more. Hints of sadness were entrapped in them,"I...I haven't told her that just yet."

"How could you not tell her that? She has a right to know."

A swift wind blew all the preautumn leaves on the ground into the air, making a miniature leafy tornado out of them. The transition from Summer to Fall was always the prettiest.

"I know that. It's just, I can't come right out and say it. I have to ease into it. She'd think I was a freak of nature or a monster if I did it any other way."

I placed my hand on his watching as his features changed from sadness to curiosity. Stefan thought _he _was the monster? He, unlike his brother, was affectionate and caring, "You're not a freak at all, Stefan. And if Elena thinks you are, then she's obviously crazy. We all know who the real monster is."

"And Damon, no matter what you may believe, isn't going to change."

It was sad that Damon wasn't redeemable. I use to think everyone had something good about them. No one was just purely evil or purely good. But Damon put an end to those thoughts, "I know that. Which is why I'm going to kill him." Normally I would have never told Stefan about my wicked schemes against his brother, but something about him made me think we were on the same page.

"If only it were that simple, Lea. You can't beat him. _I _can't beat him. He's too strong to even consider that an option."

"Look, if you're here to just shit on my abilities as a hunter, then you can just-"

"But what is in the realm of possibilities for us, is outsmarting him."

His voice was soft and delicate. Barely even loud enough to be considered a whisper. It were as if he had a deadly secret that only he and I were to know of. Stefan wanted to put an end to Damon just as much as I did. And he actually wanted to combine forces to do that. Wow.

"You hate your brother that badly?" Curiosity got the best of me.

"I could never hate him. We've been through hell and back together. He's played a major part in my life. However not every part he's played has been good. He's become something he shouldn't, and I'm doing what I feel is best for you, myself, the town _and_ Damon." Stefan turned his head up to the sky and closed his eyes. This had to be hard for him. I could never imagine having to make a decision like that against my sister. Then again, I had no sister to test that notion out on, "Which is why you and I will be putting a stop to him."

I wrapped my arms around myself. Even my hoodie didn't stand a chance against the September night air, "Do you really think we can?"

"This is going to take a lot of work on your part, and you're the best person for the job. There is a Founders Ball tomorrow. You have to take Damon."

"Plan denied." I scoffed.

"Come on Lea. Damon is fascinated by you, so he wouldn't refuse. He'd let his guard down the most there, so it's perfect."

Damon was fascinated by me? Yeah, the blood that ran through my veins. He'd be getting a taste of that no more, "Let's say I do get him there, which would take a tremendous amount of work, how could we possibly outsmart him."

"I don't know yet. But we need to weaken him."

Weaken Damon. Wooden bullets would do the trick, but shooting him in point blank range in front of everyone wasn't discreet enough, "My family has a garden full of vervain. We can spike the drinks there."

"And get him to drink it! That's perfect Lea." He finally loosened up and didn't carry the same tenseness as he once did. His smile, once awkward, was now genuine.

I gave him a pat on the shoulder, "Then I guess I'll be following your lead after that. I have to tell you though, this is a risky plan."

"How so?"

"My parents will be there. If they see you or Damon, you're fucked. You have to stay away from them."

Stefan returned back to his tenseness just as quickly as he shrugged it off, "Do the rest of the council members know about vampires being back?"

I shook my head, "Of course not. My parents said they tried to tell the council, but Sheriff Forbes dismissed it. Especially since they said in the newspaper that the deadly animal had been found today...it was a mountain lion."

It was Stefan's turn to shake his head, "Yeah, I don't know how Damon managed to pull that off."

I laughed. People had to be completely stupid to believe that load of crap. A mountain lion was the most preposterous thing I'd ever heard. At least it wasn't a squirrel, "Doesn't matter now. Because tomorrow the real animal will be euthanized."

"Finally," Stefan grabbed onto me and took me back to my house. We traveled so quickly that my stomach churned around like I was on a roller coaster. He could've at least warned me, "Goodnight then Lea. Thank you for helping me."

The thought of me using the aid of one vampire to put away another was amusing. Who would've ever thought that Stefan and I would become a team. I guess when someone backs you into a corner you have no choice but to fight back. I just wonder what was the thing Damon did to make Stefan grow a pair all of a sudden.

"Later, Stefan. See you tomorrow." Locking the door as I went inside, my heart stopped as I realized what I'd be doing first thing tomorrow morning. I'd have to ask Damon out...


	13. Chapter 13

Chapter 13

"So let me get this straight," Damon crossed his arms over his chest and raised his eyebrows, "You want to take me out and be your date to tonights party?"

His blue eyes scanned me up and down and I made sure not to seem too suspicious, "I need a date, I don't know who else to ask, and we have this blood shit. So yes, you're the obvious choice."

"As much as I know that you're infatuated with me," He took a few steps towards me and I began to step back. We continued to do this until my back was against a wall and he was so close that I could smell the cologne he was wearing. It was dark, diabolical, with hints of spice in it. With every whiff I got of it, the more it captured me and had me falling in love with it. If sin and temptation were a scent, then it was whatever Damon Salvatore had on, "it's not reciprocated. I'm going to have to deny your flattering offer."

I felt my mouth unhinge itself and practically hit the floor, "But why!"

He used his thumb and his index finger to grab my chin and hold onto it, "Because this has scheme written all over it, love."

Today was the day I'd be honing my acting skills. I would not be leaving this house without a date, "Damon. I'm serious. My parents want me to go and I have no one else to ask. All we have to do is dance a bit and mingle. You're good at mingling. And we're gonna make sure not to see my parents either."

"Nope," He sang, "I can spot a lie from a mile away."

"What do I have to do to make you believe me?" I moved my head to the side, exposing my neck to him, "let you drink from me?"

He bent his head down to my neck and I felt his breath against my skin. I closed my eyes preparing for him to rip into it, "Clever, but not good enough."

I rolled my eyes and went for the last trick I could manage to think of, "Fine," Pushing him off me, I lifted my jeans leg exposing an anklet. I unclasped the silver piece of jewelry and let it drop to the floor, "Compel me."

"What?"

I repeated myself, "Compel me Damon. Ask me anything you need to know, because I'm not fucking daft enough to just invite you to a party in front of everyone and try to kill you. And since you obviously don't trust me, I'm giving you the opportunity to clear up all doubts in your head."

If he were to really compel me, we'd all be screwed. I was going on a serious limb here, and I could feel the branch snapping.

Damon picked up the anklet, inspecting its contents before finally throwing it back at me, "Goodbye Lea."

God dammit. He was too smart, "Fine Damon. Whatever. I can't even believe I asked you in the first place. I was delusional. I just thought that this would be a way for us to try and actually move on, but I thought wrong. I'll ask someone else."

I walked to the door, thinking of how I would tell Stefan the bad news. We'd now need a different plan.

"Wait," Damon sped up and turned me around, "how badly do you want me to go with you."

He wanted me to beg? "You want me to beg?"

Damon chuckled, "Begging had such bad connotation surrounding it. I simply want you to put into words how desperately you want me to escort you to the party tonight."

Yeah, he wanted me to beg. I prevented myself from cussing Damon out and leaving without waiting for him to do anything. I would take one for the team this once. Stefan would owe me big.

Swallowing my pride, I did what I was told, "Damon, it would mean the world to me if you would take the time out of your day, and do this one favor for me. It would mean more to me than ending world hunger or having world peace. Could you do this for me please?"

He smiled and I felt lower than low, "Come on now, Lea." Damon pat me on the head like a dog, "I would have said yes if you had simply asked."

Instead of falling into the trap he set for me, I took my acting skills to a new plateau. I wrapped my arms around Damon, pulling him into a hug. His hand slipped around my waist and he returned my embrace, "Thank you so much." I whispered into his ear, "You won't regret it."

Pulling away, Damon walked me to the door. He opened it for me, "Pick you up at seven. Make sure your parents aren't anywhere to be found during that time."

"No problem. Thanks again Damon." I walked outside to my car, turning around one last time to give Damon another courteous wave. I got him to be my date for tonight...bingo.

The Lockwood house was huge. People from all over Mystic Falls frolicked around the gardens outside dressed in fancy garments. Music flowed out of speakers that I couldn't spot anywhere, and they danced outside. Everything seemed the same since the last time I'd been to one of these parties. Which was years ago. My sister was the one who loved these get togethers.

Damon and I walked into the Lockwood's mansion. Well, I walked in, Damon stood outside, looking in, waiting for an invite.

"Oh Aaliyah," Mrs. Lockwood ran over to me giving me a hug and a peck on the cheek. She wore a yellow and white tube dress that was very unflattering. And her hair was styled in the same seventies flip it always was, "I wasn't expecting to see you here. You never come to these things. I thought you weren't the social type."

I suppose Tyler inherited his doucheness from his mother's side of the family. I ignored her blatant rudeness and gave her a charming smile, "Well, you know, this will be my last year here before I go to college. So I wanted this year to be special. Have you met my date Damon?"

She looked at Damon and nodded her head, "It's nice to meet you Damon, please come right on in."

"Thank you," He took a step inside and I noticed his demeanor wasn't nearly as cruel as what it normally was, "And it's lovely to meet you Mrs. Lockwood."

"Well you two have a great time. And marvelous dress Aailyah."

As Mrs Lockwood left, I couldn't help but look at my dress. It was a tight fitting, off the shoulder black cocktail dress. While it was pretty and nicely draped in the front, my back was entirely exposed. Caroline or Elena may have been able to pull off such a look, but I wasn't the beauty queen type who could look good in a potato sack. And the heels I wore were killing my feet. God knows what would happen once I had to continuously walk in them.

Damon as if sensing my insecurities, made them all melt away like sugar in water, "You look perfect Lea," He placed his hand on the small of my back and moved me in closer to him, "Now let's have fun."

I was speechless. Did he actually just compliment me? That wasn't like him at all. I didn't thank him for the compliment, or tell him how good he looked, and he looked damn good. All I did was insult him, "Why are you being so civilized?"

We walked through the crowds of people and Damon helped me keep my balance, "You wanted to come here, so here we are. We're going to make the best of it."

What was this feeling inside of me what made me want to puke? It wasn't Damon being nice. Or me having to deal with all these people. I might have actually been feeling a bit guilty for what was going to happen. I shook the thought from my head. Of course I wasn't feeling guilty. Damon was a monster, and had to be stopped. He wasn't the nice kind guy who he was pretending to be right now. But if it wasn't guilt, then why did I feel this way?

"Let's get a drink." He nudged my shoulder.

Yes! He initiated the act of getting a drink. Now I didn't have to look too suspect to him. I had to play this cool, "I'm underage."

"Live a little Lea. One drink won't hurt."

Oh but it would hurt. It'd hurt a lot. Before Damon came to pick me up, exactly at seven by the way, I was at the Lockwood's sneaking vervain into drinks and champagne bottles. Now would be the time where Damon would take a gulp and fall down onto the floor in agony.

"One drink then." We made our way to the a server with drinks on a tray. Damon picked up two glasses, one for himself, and one for me. I brought the drink up to my mouth only to have Damon stop me from a taking a sip.

"We've gotta toast this, Lea."

I nodded, "Okay..."

He raised his glass, "To putting the past behind us and starting anew."

Wow. He was making this harder than this had to be. I slowly lifted my glass, "To putting the past behind us and starting anew."

A clink filled the air as the tips of our glasses met each others. As Damon and I began to take a sip, we were rudely interrupted.

"Damon, Lea, what are you two doing here?" Elena, with Stefan by her side walked up to us, preventing Damon to take the bait. Damon, once seeing Elena, sat his drink back upon the servers tray and I did the same. Damn that Elena Gilbert. Damn her and her incredibly bad timing, "I'm sorry, that was so rude of me to say. What I meant was, what are you two doing here... together?"

If Damon's arm wasn't already fastened on my waist, he made damn sure to keep me glued to his hip once he saw Elena and Stefan, "Lea didn't tell you two we're on a date?"

"You two...are dating?" Stefan looked with concerned eyes but I knew better. On the inside I bet he was jumping for joy that I managed to get Damon to tag along.

"Well what can I say," Damon was about to let a snide remark pour from his lips, "She just can't help herself. What was it that you said to me Lea? That I'm undeniably sexy?"

There was old Damon. Whenever I thought he had disappeared, he always managed prove me wrong. And this time, his lie made me look pathetic. Why did he have to change so quickly in front of Stefan and Elena, "You know, he's right." I smiled playing into his antics, "I just can't help but melt whenever he gives me that look. And how he talks like everything he says is italicized," My hand crept behind his back and pinched the hell out of him, but he didn't flinch, "And he adores the fact that he and I share a love for romantic comedies. I mean, all day yesterday we stayed up watching every single Cameron Diaz movie known to man."

Damon nodded, not missing a beat, "Guilty as charged."

"Um, well then, I guess we'll see you guys later?" Elena smoothed out her dress and her eyes shifted to Stefan. She must've thought we were bat shit crazy. Hell, I thought we were.

"Mhm" Damon and I said in unison as we watched the pairing walk off.

As soon as they left, we were at each others throats, "How undeniably sexy you are? Really Damon? Really?"

"Cameron fucking Diaz, Lea? How pussy whipped am I to you?" He gently shoved me before having to save me from falling down. Heels were the devil I tell you, "Look, let's just forget about that. We're here to have fun. What better way to start the evening off than with a dance."

"Me? Dance? Nah, I'm good."

He took my hand and lead my to the floor where every couple was slow dancing. Me, not wanting to fall on my ass and make a fool of myself, didn't fight against him, "Damon really. I don't dance. Especially in these stilts I have on."

"Come on," He placed both of my hands around his neck before his hands mets my hips, "It's not like I'm asking you to murder someone. It's just one little harmless dance."

Feeling as though I didn't have an option, I simply complied. Damon taking control, slowly began moving left and right. Trying to not to loot like an idiot, I was focused more so on not falling down onto the ground.

"Don't worry," He smiled as if he could read my mind, "I won't let you fall. So just enjoy the moment."

As the song progressed, the air between our bodies was no more and my head was now resting on Damon's chest. I listened to the guitar in the indie song that played as our footsteps coordinated with it. My arms no longer around his neck, were now clasped around his back pulling him into me. And his hands weren't on my hips, but hugged around my lower back. It were as if everything else in the background was muted and all I heard was the soft playing of the music and the boom of my heart ricocheting off my ribcage.

My eyes opened slightly, to see Stefan and Elena dancing right beside us. While Elena was enjoying the moment, Stefan's eyes switched between Elena and myself. Every time he looked at me, he only reminded me of what my goal was to do. I had to put an end to Damon. If only us dancing together didn't make it that much harder. Or the fact that Damon's arms felt so damned good around me.

The song, even though I didn't want it too, ended. Which put an end to our dancing. We pulled apart and I recollected my thoughts. Get Damon to have a drink. Get Damon to have a drink. Get Damon to have a drink.

"See," He smoothed my hair down and moved it out of my face. I'm sure it got messed up because I had it nestled onto his chest, "that wasn't as bad as you made it."

"No, it wasn't. Thanks for the dance." I felt awkward. I shouldn't have been doing this when I was supposed to be plotting against him.

Silence blanketed over us and I didn't know what to say. Where did we go from here?

"Damon," Stefan appeared out of thin air and placed a hand on his brothers shoulder, "do you mind if I steal Lea for a moment?"

Damon glared at his brother before waving him off, "Of course not Stefan. I'll just go have a chat with Elena. You two have exactly one minute. She's _my_ date remember? Not yours."

I couldn't make out what he meant by that statement. Part of it sounded snide, while another part was considerate. I couldn't peg it.

As Damon walked away Stefan ushered me into a corner where he was sure his brother wouldn't hear, "Did you get him to have a drink?"

I waved my hands in the air like a mad person, "He isn't writhing on the floor in pain is he? When he was about to have a drink, you and your girlfriend showed up and stopped it."

Stefan looked around only to see Damon and Elena walking up to us. We had to make this quick, "Well make sure he drinks one ok?"

"Easier said than done Stefan."

Stefan's mouth twitched into a wicked smile. One that was very similar to Damon's, "Well, if you weren't too busy letting Damon woo you, maybe you'd get the job done."

I looked around making sure he was talking to me, "Damon was not wooing me, Stefan!"

"Was so." Stefan sang.

Embarrassment began to flood me. If it were possible, I would've been blushing, "You're brother was not wooing me, and I was not getting wooed."

"Did you like it?"

Not getting a chance to put an end to all of Stefan's teasing, Damon and Elena waltzed up to us.

Elena wrapped her arms around Stefan adoringly, and Stefan affectionately kissed her on the forehead. It was cute. Those two managed to make me feel warm and fuzzy on the inside. I wanted a relationship like that. Something solid.

My eyes traveled to Damon, who obviously was disgusted. His mouth was turned into a scowl and his hands were buried into the pockets of his slacks. He was jealous. Why?

Without me realizing, I had pulled Damon's hand from out of his pocket and intertwined our fingers. Right as our fingers laced around each others, I felt Damon's gaze on me. Glancing out of my peripherals, I saw Damon staring at me in both wonder and curiosity. His hand gripped mine harder and I tried to not fully look at him. I could've stopped it from continuing and unlaced our fingers, but I didn't. Hey, they were already there.

"Lea!" I heard someone call out to me and I searched for where the voice was coming from.

Through the bunches of fraternizing people, I spotted a black blur moving closer and closer. Squinting my eyes to make out who the voice belonged to, I recognized my mom and dad, hand in hand, moving towards me.

Panic, fear, and anxiety all concocted themselves into a basketball sized lump inside my stomach. All I could do is point with my free hand to my parents moving like gazelles through the masses of people.

"What is it Lea?" Elena looked out into the crowd trying to see what I saw.

"My parents." My voiced cracked in a hoarse croak.

Damon and Stefan both looked out with me and their eyes began to pop. Stefan seized Elena by the forearm, and pulled her off into the opposite direction. Damon rapidly dragged me along the edges of the ballrooms walls until we made our way out the back exit.

We stepped outside onto the patio and I looked back to make sure they weren't following us. And praise Allah they weren't. But the sight the I now got of them made me wish they had continued their search. My mom and dad had stopped their search for me, and instead we're in the middle of the ballroom, dancing like there was no tomorrow. Their bodies didn't move with the rhythm of the song, and they looked completely out of place with everyone else. My mom was attempting to drop it like it was hot, while my dad was doing the robot. The smiles on their faces, however, indicated that they didn't care who saw because they were having such a good time. Humiliating? Most definitely.

Stepping to the edge of the deck, I looked out into the distance. Damon and I stood out on a balcony with stairs in the middle of it that led directly out to a robust garden. A menagerie of flowers cascaded the green hills around us. And dim lights gently lit the area.

"That was close." Damon joined me at the edge and rested his arms in the marbled edge in front of him.

"Yeah." Raising my head up to the sky I noticed how it was no longer daylight and that the sky had turned a cobalt blue. Giant mountains of plush clouds pranced around the night horizon and as they broke apart, puny stars popped from their cocoons and let their brilliance dazzle down onto Damon and I.

"How is it that you can go out in the sun?" Vampires were only allowed to see the moon and the stars. Not the sun. How Damon and Stefan managed to become greedy and have both was perplexing.

Damon held up his hand and showed me a huge, blue, gaudy ring with a crest in the middle. In the middle of the crest, was the letter, 'D'. It was ugly as hell, "Lapis Lazuli. It's a rare stone that is able to retain abilities if a witch enchants it. The spell that was cast on this one, along with Stefan's, grants us the ability to go out in the sunlight."

I should've known. Rings, bracelets, any piece of jewelry was always more than what it seemed.

"What made you become a hunter?" Damon twisted the ring around his finger. I guess it was his turn to ask a question.

I sighed, not wanting to go into specific detail about how my hatred of vampires began. But Damon had answered my question, so I had to answer his, "My sister died, around three months ago. Sheriff Forbes blamed it on an animal attack, but I knew better. And once I finally got the true reason from my parents, well, I decided that I should try to prevent anyone else from having to go through the hurt I went through." I had to fight back the tears that tried to fall. I would be strong, "To have to witness somebody that you loved so much die. To hear their last breath before they're taken away from you... I wouldn't wish that type of hurt on anyone. Not even you, Damon."

"Katherine," Damon sighed and scratched his head, "Katherine was the vampire who turned me. She was also the love of my life. Stefan's life too much to my dismay. She was beautiful, sexy, and vibrant. She had this light that drew me to her. This light that made everything seem irrelevant but me and her. But Katherine, being the greedy bitch that she was, couldn't choose between me or my brother. She had to have us both."

"And what happened?"

"The news about vampires was spreading rapidly around the town. And I told Stefan to keep quiet about Katherine. Begged him. And one way or another, our father found out, planted vervain into Stefan, and had Katherine drink from him. As her body laid helpless on the floor, my father took Katherine and locked her into a tomb. Where she's been for past 145 years. Tell me Lea, if she's been in that tomb for 145 years, then why does it feel like I'm the one that's rotting away?"

I didn't expect Damon to open himself up like that. I couldn't imagine how much pain and torment he's been through because of that. No wonder he was who he was. He didn't have any other options left.

"We're supposed to be having fun here right?" I tried to lighten the depressed mood, "We've bantered and danced, what else does Damon Salvatore have up his sleeve?" I tugged on this blazer which got me a smile. Not his usual asshole smile, but a genuine smile. It was kind of cute.

"You know Lea, tonight wasn't as bad as what I expected it to be."

"I know. I didn't think you'd be so kind." It was really odd. Damon was acting like a gentleman.

He laughed, "You're not so bad Miss Thompson."

Guilt. I was sure that's what I was feeling this time. If Damon were to have acted like this from the very beginning, then I wouldn't have had to be put in a situation like this. But no, he had to be a dick and then made some weird transformation, "You're not so bad either, Damon."

"You'd be surprised at just how nice I get."

"I'm into showing, not telling." I was once again in Damon's grasp and his eyes were staring into my soul. His eyes were the type that with just one glance, it could make your knees weak. This Damon he was being today was undoubtedly attractive. This Damon was the type who could have any girl he wanted. And in a second, he was gonna have me.

"Guess I'll just have to demonstrate then." The distance between our mouths slowly decreased and I felt my breathing become jagged. Mouth instantly dry and palms instantly sweaty, he was leaning in to kiss me and I wasn't going to stop him. I'd be a fool to.

It wasn't until the thought of my deal with Stefan popped into my head, that I turned my face away from Damon right when our lips were centimeters a part. Stefan and I had an agreement. We were supposed to get rid of the issue. Damon was using his charm to prevent me from doing that and it was working. How could I have been so stupid? I wasn't the type to get caught in male bullshit like that. I wasn't the type who succumbed to a man just because of how good he looked. I wasn't the type to let my foolish hormones cloud my judgment.

But if I weren't all those things, why did it kill me to turn my head away? Why was it that today whenever Damon touched me or looked at me, I became weak. Just yesterday I was planning on shooting him in the brain, what made today so much different? Because he complimented and made me feel special? Fuck that. He wasn't going to have that type of control over me.

"Damon..." I turned my back to him, not wanting to look into his eyes.

"Mhm?"

"We have to stop this blood trade thing." That was the only thing I could manage to say.

"What?" He knew that what I said was just as ridiculous as I did.

"I'm not being your blood whore anymore. Yesterday was the only time I would let you get away with biting me."

The balms of my feet felt like I was stepping on hot coals. I bent over to take off each shoe. Much better...

"I'm not going to stop doing that." His voice darkened and I could tell he was beginning to get upset.

I carried my shoes in my free hand, "Look, I'm not respecting this deal anymore. I refuse to let you drink from me. And you're not killing anyone either. This is for your own benefit."

"So that's what you and Stefan were talking about. God dammit Lea, that not going to fucking happen. Now either you keep our deal or I'll go back to doing what I do best."

Wanting to throw my shoes at him, I opted for a long growl, "Well then I have no choice but to have to try and fucking kill you Damon. Jesus Christ why are you so goddamn pompous? The thing that makes you the animal you are is your Achilles heel. Realize what you're doing is wrong, and I won't have to put a stop to you."

I turned to see his expression. Damon's jacket was now hanging on the edge of the balcony and his tie was undone. Yeah, he was pissed at me. But it was for his own benefit. I didn't have time to let him drink the vervain. And him simply thinking that everything was cool between us wasn't an option either. He had to know where we stood.

"So you're really going to risk all the lives of Mystic Falls because of how selfish you are?"

Fury began to build in me now. I was the selfish one? I was trying to help him out and I was selfish? This was going nowhere, "Damon, I'd put an end to you before you could even kill a single person. Please, just stop."

"Oh my fucking god Lea," A voice that didn't belong to Damon shrieked. Turning to my right I saw Caroline running up the green hills with her hands clenched into fists, "You're such a stupid man stealing bitch!"

She was stomping on the grass like she were a part of an elephant stampede. Moving so quickly, I knew she was charging towards me to give me what I had coming.

"Looks like we found our next victim of an animal attack." Damon grumbled before he was unexpectedly behind Caroline. Her hair was wrapped around his fist and she was on her knees on the ground screaming in pain.

"Damon DON'T!" I ran as fast as I could down the stairs, but I seemed to have been moving in slow motion compared to everyone else. Fighting though the pain of my sore feet crashing down on random pebbles and rock, I continued to catch up to Damon. But I was too late. He had already sunk his fangs into Caroline's neck. Sending her agonizing scream to pierce the night air. He jerked his head left and right which I'm sure only caused the holes in her vein to grow bigger, and the pain to intensify.

To prevent the world from hearing Caroline's shrills, Damon placed a hand over her mouth.

"Damon please stop!" I kept running, "She'll pass out if you keep doing that!"

But I was wrong. It was Damon who had passed out. His body collapsed onto the ground and he was motionless. What the fuck had happened? I grabbed his hand and shook it hoping that he'd wake up.

"We got him!" Stefan sprung up out of nowhere. He snatched Damon away from me, lifting him over his shoulder. He moved over to Caroline and compelled her, "Caroline, forget Damon ever bit you."

Things were moving way too quickly. How did Damon collapse? How was it that Stefan got here so fast? Why couldn't Damon just be the good guy for once? And that's when it hit me, like Peyton Manning throwing a dodge ball at my face. Caroline had a drink today and was filled with vervain. The one time her delinquent behavior pays off.

Caroline nodded and Stefan looked up to me, "Lea, make sure she gets home safely."

Moving down to Caroline on the ground, I wiped away the mascara that was running down her cheeks, "You're going to be ok, Caroline."

"Fuck you, Lea! You stole Damon from me. I wondered why he broke up with me. But for you? Is he blind? Look at you! Oh my god, what an asshole."

The thought of Caroline being drained was becoming more and more appealing.

I had gotten what I wanted. Damon was going to be contained, and Mystic Falls was safe again. But if that's what I really wanted, then why did I feel like shit? Why was what was supposed to be the sweet smell of victory, smell so rancid? And more importantly, why did I feel like I had betrayed Damon?

I tried to help her off the ground, but she refused my gesture. She stood on her own and ran off to places unknown. Probably to see Elena. Feeling my nails attempt to tear into my skin, I unclenched my hands. As I did that, a heard a thud as something collapsed to the ground. Picking up the fallen object, I inspected it. A blue, ugly ring laid in the surface of my hand. It was Damon's ring.


	14. Chapter 14

**Chapter 14**

**_**Shout outs to those who've commented recently. **_**

**_**Elizabethpendragon – I'm a fan of the Depp too. However, Brad Pitt in, "Fight Club" verses Johnny Depp...I dunno. **_**

**_**Flora017 – You've commented on the past three chapters and I appreciate that greatly. I hope you enjoy this chapter too.**_**

I helped Stefan drag Damon's unconscious body into a small, cramped prison like cell. The floors and walls were hard stone, and there was nothing inside it but a single, tiny light bulb. This would be the place where Damon would rot for the rest of his life. My mind couldn't help but wander to Damon telling me about Katherine. She was locked away in a tomb probably going insane. And here I was, an accomplice to Stefan to give Damon that same fate.

"Are you sure this is the right thing to do?" I stepped out of the cell suddenly getting cold feet.

Stefan closed the metal door, and locked it, sealing Damon and his doom in there, "This is for everyone's best interest, Lea. It's only natural that you feel guilty. I feel it too. But Damon is dangerous and can't continue to live the life he was living."

As much as I hated to admit it, Damon didn't seem as dangerous to me after spending time with him at the party. Yes, he was still a douche, and his actions were wrong, but after hearing his story, and seeing what he was capable of, Damon seemed more so acting out for attention rather than being an actual threat. Ugh, he and I should've never went to that dance together. I got attached. Just that quickly. Instead of wanting Damon dead, I wanted him to know how sorry I was.

"When will you let him out of here?"

We walked up the stone basement stairs, "I don't know. One hundred years maybe?"

The thought of me being dead by the time Damon got out, as morbid as it seemed, was a relief. If he were to get out while I was still alive, Damon would waste little to no time at all trying to get revenge. But I couldn't say he didn't deserve it. If the shoe were on the other foot, my years crusting over would be spent on conjuring up vicious variety of ways I'd slowly torture him.

"I'm sorry, I just feel as if this may be too harsh."

Stefan tossed his tie to the floor and undid the buttons on his dress shirt halfway. If Stefan weren't Elena's girlfriend, I might've taken a peak at the sun kissed skin the glowed beneath the shirt. Or the beginning formation of abs that grew where the last button was undone at. Too bad he was Elena's girlfriend, so I kept my eyes glued to something else. "Don't pussy out on me now, Lea."

"Wowza." His bluntness was shocking.

He laughed waving a hand in the air, "I'm sorry, I didn't mean it like that. It's just that you actually seem to have feelings for him now. Just yesterday you were trying to shoot him in the heart."

Yeah, shit was moving quickly, but I just felt a little guilty. Sorry for me having a heart. "I just feel badly, is all."

Stefan's strong hands gripped my shoulders firmly. Sage green eyes scanning me, he gave me a heart melting smile, "If it makes you feel any better, Damon wouldn't have cared nearly as much if it were you in that cell."

I frowned and Stefan's laughter resumed. "Way to make me feel better."

"I'm sorry. I just find it cute that you're worrying so much."

"You're over one hundred and fifty years old Stefan, and the only word you can use to describe how you feel is 'cute'?"

"Pardon my insolence in regard to the English language. Perhaps the word more suitable for your taste is farcical. Does that euphemism suite your standards?"

Today was the day Stefan was a douche. I guess we're all allowed a day off, "You're more like your brother than you think, Stef."

He yawned, muscles flexing as he reached for the sky. Watching a vampire yawn like a baby was a first. "It's getting late, Lea, you should be heading home."

"Oh no. We just committed a heinous crime together, Stefan. I'm keeping an eye on you tonight to make sure that you don't skip town and leave me to deal with Damon on my own."

"What would stop me from skipping town any other day?" I guess asshole filled smiles ran in the family because Stefan was wearing one identical to his older brother.

"Fine. You caught me." I threw my hands in the air admitting defeat, "I told my parents yesterday that Elena invited me to spend the night over her house just in case you needed me to stay out late."

"So you're homeless right now?" That damn smile still never left his face. I swear it made me appreciate Damon's a whole lot more now.

"Yeah, I guess you could say that."

Well," Stefan held his index finger up as if he had gotten an epiphany, "this is a boarding house. I suppose I'd be obliged to let you stay here for as long as you need."

"My, my, my, Mr. Salvatore," My voice became that of a southern débutante of 1864, "you're hospitality and generosity is awfully kind of you. Tomorrow I will repay you by making that lemonade of mine you love oh so much."

"Goodnight Lea." Stefan began to walk away before stopping mid step. "Do you need to use a shirt of mine? I wouldn't want you sleeping in that dress."

Right after the whole Damon debacle, I had run straight to Stefan's house. Luckily, I was prepared. "I've got it covered." I nodded over to my book bag. "There are pajamas and school clothes in there." Along with the ring that your brother once used to let him walk in the sun.

"Fair enough." He began walking again.

"Stefan?"

"Hmm?" He stopped once more.

"Where do I sleep?"

"My room, of course."

A sharp pain stung my chin because my mouth had hit the floor so hard, "What?"

"That was a joke, Lea. There are so many bedrooms in this house that I've lost count. Pick whichever one you like the most." Stefan made his way up the flight of steps, "Good night." He sang again before leaving me to myself.

"Night night, Stefan," I whispered before going off to find a room.

**Question time! Who do you think Damon will be more mad at IF he gets out of the cell, Lea or Stefan?**


	15. Chapter 15

Chapter 15

_**Omg. Somehow my computer/this fanfiction site, deciding to jumble the order of my story up beyond all recognition. I don't know how or why this happened, but I am extremely upset because I took me thirty minutes to rearrange, retitle, and redistribute these chapters. So I believe this is my second time uploading this. Sigh, I hope this all makes sense. I apologize to those who have already read this chapter. **_

Wrapping a towel around me, I stepped out of the seamless, spacious shower that stood in the middle of a ginormous bathroom. This bathroom was fit for a king. A long marbled counter that stood in front of the worlds biggest mirror held a sink and candles. Stone walls and tiles traveled to a standalone clawfoot tub. Who the fuck needed a shower and a bathtub?

After making little hearts, suns and moons in the steam on the mirror, I headed into the bedroom. It was the best bedroom in the house. After deliberately looking at each room, seeing which one I wanted to me in, this room stole my heart. Mahogany floors and walls spread throughout the room. Thick golden curtains with lace sheers behind them masked two French doors that led to a balcony. Beside the curtains, which were allowing hints of the rising sun to peak through, was a massive bed. This bed could fit an entire cheerleading squad in it. It was like two king sized mattresses were smushed beside each other, and then an additional two were stacked on top of them. Sleeping in that bed was the closest I'd been to heaven.

_Thud!_

My body crashed hard onto the ground, snapping me from my daze. I was so taken aback by the sneak attack, that I couldn't register everything that was happening. All I could focus on was the pounding throbs coming from the back of my skull, and my esophagus was being crushed.

"Damon, what did you do to Lea?" Stefan said, clasp around my throat growing harder. "And how the fuck did you get out of your cell?"

My wrists felt like they were going to snap like a twig, and my throat burned worse than a forest fire. I kicked, tried to scream, and clawed at Stefan's exposed back. Anything to get him off me. It wasn't until his eyes locked with mine that he knew I wasn't Damon. And as quickly as he tackled me, he was helping me onto my feet, apologizing.

"Holy shit, Lea, I'm so sorry. I thought you were-" Stefan's voice, once loud and sympathetic, faded into nothing. His eyes, once concerned and infused with regretful grew, into two huge circles, trying to escape from their sockets. "Oh my god." His hands covered his agape mouth.

"Stefan, what?" I said, beginning to panic. Was Damon behind me about to kill me? Did my parents find out where I was and were about to kill Stefan? "What the fuck is wrong?"

Stefan's gaze shifted from my eyes to my body. I looked down to see what he was staring at, and that's when I realized what was the matter. My heart exploded into a thousand little pieces like a firework, and my stomach shriveled into the the size of a dime. This couldn't have been happening. This was a sick twisted dream. But the towel that laid on the floor was the validation to all of this.

I was standing in front of Stefan Salvatore naked.

I screamed. I screamed louder than a death metal band. Louder than a banshee. This was the scream to rival all screams. Like a break-the-sound-barrier scream. There was nothing else for me to do but scream. Stefan ran out the room so quickly you'd think he were training for the Olympics.

Rewrapping the fallen towel around me, I frenziedly scampered over to the bedroom door Stefan left open. I slammed it shut before leaning my back against, preventing Stefan from coming back in. Although I doubt he would've. Slowly sinking onto the ground, my hands covered my face in embarrassment. This was terrible. A complete fucking nightmare. I would never be leaving this room again.

…

"Stefan?" I whispered for about the one hundredth time, tiptoeing around his empty living room. Staying as far away from him as humanly, or vampirely possible was my new task. Fuck protecting the town. My dignity was more important. And to keep that in tact, Stefan and I would have to stay away from each other.

But that didn't mean I couldn't see Damon.

Stepping down the cold stone steps, I braced myself for the tongue lashing I knew Damon would give me. I traveled down the cramped hallway, pulse speeding up with each step I took. Goosebumps prickled grew on my arms, and the hair stood on the back of my neck. There Damon was.

Breathing jagged and unsteady, Damon's unconscious body was curled into a slump. Sweat sheened his forehead like mist on grass and an indescribable regret brewed inside of me. This wasn't right. Him being in here. He didn't deserve this.

I turned around to leave the incapacitated Damon alone, but his voice stopped me in my tracks.

"Well if it isn't the hunter." He said, voice weak and strained. "You know, you really fucking fooled me back there."

I ran a hand through my damp hair. "I wasn't trying to fool you, Damon. I begged you to stop, and you didn't listen. You're in here because of your reckless behavior."

He struggled to lift himself up so that his back was against a wall. "I'm in here because I was conned by a little bitch."

Damn, that was harsh. "I'm honestly sorry."

Damon coughed a little laugh. "I must admit though, Lea, this plan was much better than your last one. You caught me completely by surprise. I was thinking that we were there for fun. But you, you were scheming the whole time."

"Yeah, it was a scheme at first. But it wasn't like that as the day progressed."

"So this is your way of thanking me for a good time?"

"You were killing people, Damon! You knew the blood arrangement shit wasn't going to last. And you knew I wasn't going to let you continue your little killing spree. What did you expect me to do? Oh wait, you expected to kill me before I put an end to you."

Damon's features grew dark and dangerous. "You think that this is putting an end to me? Oh, I can't wait until I'm out of here. Two days tops. That's how long you have to get the fuck out of town. Unless you actually think I'm going to stay in here. But that would be foolish of you, Lea. I'm much stronger than you think."

He was saying this out of anger. I expected that. "No Damon, I won't be skipping town. And I know you're strong and expect you to get out of here. But as for you killing me, that won't be happening."

"I'll stop at nothing to have you dead. If that means butchering everyone in the town, until the streets turn into rivers of their blood, then that's what I'll have to do."

I sighed. "Damon, it doesn't have to be like this."

"Elena, Caroline, and Bonnie? I'll charm my way into their hearts, before ripping them out."

I ignored him. "I'll fix this if I can."

"Sheriff Forbes and Aunt Jenna? They'll most definitely be grieving and will need a shoulder to cry on. I'll be that shoulder. And as they pour their hearts out to me, I'll rip out their throats, and pour their blood out on the floor."

My hands found their way around the rusting bars of the window I spoke to him from. I pulled myself as closely as I could to it. "This whole monster routine is a cover up. I can help you."

"Stefan? He'll fucking wish he had the balls to kill me. I'll tear his head right off and keep it above my mantle as decoration for guests to see when they come over."

He was just fuming. He didn't mean any of this. "I can't tell you how badly I feel."

"Am I missing anyone? Elena. Caroline. Bonnie. Sheriff Forbes. Aunt Jenna. Stefan." Damon counted on his fingers, before a grim smile appeared on his face. "Oh yeah! That's right! Mom and dad. Mr. and Mrs. Thompson. I'll torture them for days on end until death is the only option left for them."

I shook at the bars. "Damon, please!"

"And don't think I forgot about you, oh precious Lea. I know how much you hate being left out. I'll force you to watch as I kill every single one of them. And you'll plead for me to end your life. To put an end to your suffering. And if I happen to be in a generous mood when you ask, I will. You'll want death more than you want your idiot of a sister back."

Wow. My hands slipped from off the bars as I turned my back to him. Damon knew the one thing that could tear my soul in two. This was the second time he used that weapon against me, and it hurt like hell. And even if he was just saying all this out of frustration, that didn't stop the pain from hurting just as much.

He knew how much I wanted my sister back. He knew I'd go through hell and high water just to hear her voice again. The only reason I was doing this fucking save-the-town- vigilante bullshit, was to prevent anyone from hurting like I did. To prevent anyone from getting someone they loved stolen from him. And if Damon had Katherine stolen from him all those years ago, if he was going through the same hurt I was, why couldn't he empathize?

"Damon..." I muttered, pinching the bridge of my nose to prevent any tears from falling. "There's nothing I can possibly do but say I'm sorry."

"You could let me out of here."

Inhale. Exhale. Keep a clear mind. Don't cry. "And then what? You continue to take your anger of not having Katherine out on the town? Me letting you out solves nothing, Damon. It might mend our relationship, but it's not for the greater good. So if you want out of here that badly, if 'Kill Aaliyah' is at the very top of your to-do list, come find me. And when you do, you better come at me with everything you've got, because Stefan might not have the balls to finish you off, but I most certainly won't think twice to put a bullet in your head."

Claps. The sound of Damon clapping was added to the tension filled air. "You're quite the little speech giver, Lea. I especially loved your closing. Correct me if I'm wrong, but did you take lessons from my brother? Because I swear, all I could think about while you were delivering that eloquent sermon was 'She's read a page or two from the book of Stefan.'"

"You're impossible, Damon."

"And you're as good as dead." It didn't take me to look at him to know he was smiling. I could feel it. That smothering, all-consuming smile of his. I'm so glad I didn't catch a glimpse of it, because that asshole smile of his would've been enough for me to go right in there and kill him on the spot.

"What are you still doing here? Go. Go and enjoy your last few days of living. I know how much you like to spend time with me, but don't worry, I'll be seeing you soon enough."

My feet couldn't move much faster, as I ran out of that dank fucking cell. How Damon was able to fluctuate my emotions for him like they were goddamn seasons was unbelievable. First I'd hate him, then I'd sympathize with him, then I'd hate him again. This ebb and flow bullshit wasn't helping my situation. I suppose you have to rid yourself of your emotions to be a good hunter.

"Stefan!" I yelled, marching up another flight of stairs. All that embarrassment I had bottled up, evaporated like smoke. Stefan and I needed to talk, but the house prevented that from happening. It was just way too big. "Change of plans for this Damon thing! I don't think he's going to stay in there much longer so I'm gonna just shoot him while he's down and out!"

I marched into Stefan's room. If I hadn't looked at all the other bedrooms last night, I wouldn't have been able to use the process of elimination to find it. It was a rather large room, just like the one I was in. The only difference was that Stefan's room contained way more books, and plenty of memorabilia. Oh, and this room had plenty of couches and chairs. Don't ask me why anyone needs couches _and_ chairs in their room.

"Stefan!" Attempting to move around his room wasn't an easy task. I had to watch out for all of his clutter and prized possessions. They were like little mines that screamed, "Step on me! Step on me!"

"Stef- ouch!" I bumped into a table that I could've sworn wasn't there before, spilling all the contents on the table onto the ground. It were as if they knew I had important matters to tend to, but wanted to distract me nonetheless.

Hurriedly, I picked up all the books and random pieces of paper I could, trying to put them back in the order Stefan had them. But there was so much shit that I knew it wouldn't have been exactly the way Stefan had it. God only knows what he'll think of me if he found out I was in his room. Creeper alerts would go off in his head for sure.

I picked up the last fallen item off the ground. Which was old and worn. The edges were tattered and burned like it had went through the cruelest of treatment, and yet still survived it all. It felt like one of those old pictures your grandparents show you when you come over for Thanksgiving dinner. I didn't wanna snoop. Really I didn't. But to know what Stefan's style used to be like decades ago was something I couldn't pass up. To see Stefan in something outrageous like bell bottoms was exactly what I needed at the moment. I turned the picture around, ready to laugh, but what I saw took me completely by surprise.

It was a picture of a woman. Brown hair curled and pulled back with only a single strand dangling over her face. She had one of those I'm-smiling-but-not-really smiles on her face, and had on a beautiful pearl necklace. But that wasn't what shocked me. Not her silly hair. Or her lame fucking pose. Or the goddamn necklace. The woman in the picture was Elena.

Elena was a vampire.


	16. Chapter 16

Chapter 16

_**I know I know I know. I haven't updated in months. But let me explain. I wasn't quite sure if this story was worth writing because not many people are reading this. I don't know if it is because TVD fans love Delena (whom I hate with a fiery passion that rivals the surface of the Sun) too much or what. Because DamonOC stories are hard to come by in this fandom. So maybe it's because I'm in the minority. Or maybe because this story isn't actually an interesting one. Which I can understand. Either way, I've decided to at least try and write this because I love writing Lea and Damon and not to be cocky but I think they're better than Delena. I'm one hundred percent certain that either Elena won't end up with either brother or she'll pick Stefan. It's time for the antidelena fans to rise up and unite. Spoiler alert for those who haven't seen this recent episode but Damon kissed Elena. And he reason for doing so; because he doesn't want to feel guilty anymore? Bullshit horse! If that were the case he would've been kissed her season one. AND, how is she just going to return the kiss after finding out Stefan has a bit of humanity left in him. Bitch. He drank all that blood for her. He became the one thing he didn't want to become for her. And how does she repay him? Make out with his brother. The fuck? If that were me, I would've went to the ends of the Earth for Stefan. I would've found a goddamn second White Oak Tree and carved me a stake. Pssh, Elena doesn't even deserve Stefan. But I digress. Don't think I'm just writing because of that. Because I'm not. I do this for the people who take the time to read, comment, review, give any type of response. You all are the ones who got me through this. So, I'm officially writing this story again for the ones who like reading this story. **_

_**. . . **_

Five days. Five Damon free days. Five days filled with me being paranoid constantly looking over my shoulder. Five days of me not being able to call out Stefan and Elena on their shit.

How could Elena have been a vampire? How? I had known her since middle school. And last time I checked, vampires didn't age. But I was sure that picture hadn't been taken recently. It was old and worn. Its edges were yellow due to its natural age. And Elena damn sure didn't dress like she was a Southern Belle. Unless Stefan was horrible a taking care of photos, or Elena had some fucking twin she didn't know about, I called bullshit.

And I didn't even get a chance to talk to them about it. Well, I didn't plan on talking. More like yelling at them until my throat couldn't take it anymore. If Elena was a vampire, why the hell couldn't I figure that out? Maybe she carried the same nice gene Stefan had. This was just too damn weird for me. Stefan was avoiding me like I was a leper; probably because he saw me naked. And Elena was so far gone in her own little world today that I didn't have time to muscle up the courage to ask her about what was going on.

I guess it was fair to say that these past five days sucked more ass than Ron Jeremy.

"Hey," a hand grabbed at my wrist and I found myself looking into Bonnie's big green eyes. "are you okay?"

"Yeah, why?"

Her eyes traveled downward and I panicked. Stefan did the same thing this morning and it was because I was naked. But I remembered to put clothes on this time. So I was sure that wasn't it.

"You're kind of making a mess," she laughed. I looked down, noticing the bucket of sudsy water I filled was overflowing.

"Shit," I muttered, unclasping the the handle of the hose in my hand. My mind was so preoccupied with Stefan and Elena that I didn't realize I spaced out. "I shouldn't be here. I'm out of it right now."

Why I even bothered to come to this school car wash fund raiser thing was beyond me. I was stupid enough to think that I'd finally have time to actually talk to Stefan and Elena, but of course, they were nowhere to be found. Now I was stuck here, washing cars, bored as hell.

"It's no biggie. Don't cry over spilled water, right?" Bonnie laughed at her corny joke, and I forced a smile.

"I should get going."

I started to leave but Bonnie grabbed a hold of my wrist once more.

"Come on, Lea, stay. For me." She gave me a puppy dog look and I returned it with a look of despair. "Don't leave me here alone with Caroline. Ever since Damon broke up with her, she's been bitchy."

"Isn't she always like that?" I thought that bitchiness ran in Caroline's veins.

Bonnie frowned. "You just have to get to know her. She isn't the ice queen she seems to be. She warms up once she lets you in."

Let's you into what? Caroline lacked depth. There was nothing to her but a pretty face. But she seemed to be friends with Bonnie and Elena. Two girls who seemed cool. So there had to be something cool about her, I guess.

"One more hour, Bonnie." I said, grabbing the sponge inside the bucket of water, before I began washing the navy blue Toyota Celica.

And as much as I tried to take my mind of things, I couldn't. I just didn't know how to handle the situation. What if I did confront Elena and Stefan only to find out that it was just a picture and they had some freaky role playing shit going on. That would only result in me being deemed a stalker and nosy. But what if It were Stefan who was a stalker and was keeping a file on Elena. If I didn't say anything then I could possibly be endangering Elena. But what if Elena really was a vampire and Stefan, Damon, and her were all planning on killing me. Then I'd be fucked.

The only sensible answer to all of this was: Ask Damon about the picture. He was locked away, and the worst thing he could do to me was lie.

"Bonnie I-" I turned to Bonnie, only to watch her getting scorned by Tiki The Bitch about washing and drying the pavements.

As if the pavements weren't clean enough.

Handing Bonnie the sweeper, Tiki walked away victoriously. Eyes rolled in annoyance, pout held permanently on her lips, Bonnie didn't bother drying of the street. Instead... she just look at the trails of water flowing down them, gaze held intensely on it.

Weird.

What was even more weird, was how the trail of water she was looking at began smoking before bursting into a huge blaze of flames. Falling onto the ground, scrambling away from the flames that threatened to bake me like I was chocolate cake.

I almost had a Michael Jackson Pepsi commercial moment.

"Oh my God Lea, are you ok?" Bonnie ran over to my side, helping me up from off the ground.

"What the fuck was that?" I asked with a voice eight octaves higher than my normal pitch. Pointing to the flames, Bonnie and I turned only to realize the fire was no longer there. I felt like a little kid that just found out Santa wasn't real. Where the hell did those flames go? I know I wasn't making this shit up.

But Bonnie was looking the exact way I was. If not more. Bottom lip quivering, eyes glossed over as if she were going to cry, she turned back to me.

"Did I do this?"

Yeah. "I don't know."

She gripped her stomach, doubling over as she began dry heaving. I was not about to have her throw up. Then someone would really need to clean the pavements.

"Bonnie." I gripped her shoulders, pulling her back up towards me. "Are you okay?

"What's wrong with me Lea?"

Nothing. Just that you're pyrokinetic.

"I think I should go."

I stopped her from running away. "Let's go to Mystic Grill."

"What?"

"Let's take our mind off things and go to Mystic Grill. You seemed stressed. I know I'm stressed. We can go there. Chill. Eat something. Hell, I'll even play pool and let you laugh at how terrible I am."

She laughed, dabbing the tears that formed in the corner of her eyes. "I guess I do need to do something fun."

. . .

Mystic Grills was the teenage hangout. People who desperately wanted to have fun or escape their daily problems. It use to be a lame bar no one wanted to go, but after a bit of remodeling and marketing, this place became a hot spot for everyone twenty-one and under. We could enjoy decent food, play pool, and listen to local bands trying to make it big. My sister would even sing karaoke when they had contests. We never had the heart to tell her she couldn't carry a note.

"You were right. You do suck at pool." Bonnie took a sip of her virgin strawberry daiquiri. I opted for a sprite.

"I told you I did." I lied to her. I was actually really good at pool. My sister would need someone to bail her out after getting conned by pool sharks time after time that I had to learn how to play to get her money back. But Bonnie didn't need to know about that. All she needed was a smile on her face and me repeatedly knocking the cue ball off the table did the trick.

"You know, I should thank you for this. Most people would've thought I was a freak or something and wouldn't want to be bothered with me. You're a good friend, Lea." She played with a French fry, circling it in a pool of ketchup.

I took a bite of my burrito, enjoying every single piece of rice, bean, meat, and spices. One day I'd live in Mexico where I'd have an unlimited supply of the best food in the world. "I don't think you're a freak at all. Crazy things happen once and a while."

Like realizing vampires were real.

"Yeah." She batted her thick black eyelashes before looking back at me with sullen green eyes. "This doesn't just happen once and a while. This happens all the time."

"What do you mean?"

She bit her lip. "Can you keep a secret?"

I nodded, unlocking the vault in my brain where I kept all the secrets I knew of. Some I'd found out, others were told to me.

"I think I might be a witch."

And so I'd add another supernatural to the list. What else was real? Superheroes. If so, then I was going to Gotham City to find Batman.

"I know you think I'm out of my mind right? Elena and Caro-"

"I don't think you're crazy at all."

She looked at me surprisingly. "You don't?"

I shook my head. "If you had told me this say three months ago, then yeah I would've thought you were a little out of it. But I think you being a witch is very probable. And you're probably scared because no one believes you and everything is so new to you."

Much like how if I were to inform the world of vampires existing and me hunting them, people would think I was crazier than Charlie Sheen.

"What happened three months ago?" Bonnie asked, probably thinking I found out I was a witch too. It wasn't until she figured out that my sister died that all traces of hope disappeared and solemness replaced it. "Oh Lea, I'm sorry, I wasn't thinking."

"I'm good." I faked a smile. "Let's just say I had an epiphany and everything became clear."

Like how the animal attacks were because of vampires. And Sheriff Forbes wanted to keep that hush hush because she was a tard.

"So what's been going on? I mean, what powers have you been getting."

"Well," she repositioned herself, leaning in towards me. "I know things that I shouldn't. Like how Vicki left her underwear over at Tyler's. Or that you have Urban Decay lip gloss in your bag. Then I can set things on fire randomly. Until today, it was just candles. And I can feel vibes from a person I touch. I got cold and death from Stefan." She covered her mouth, knowing that she blurted out something she didn't want me to hear. "Don't mention that to him by the way."

I didn't know whether to tell her she felt that from him because he was a vampire. Hell, with her being a witch, didn't she deserve to know these things?

Too many things to think about.

"What kind of vibes do you get from me?" I asked, curious as to what the answer was.

She pointed a fry at me. "You know, I thought you were acting okay with this just to be a good friend, but you really believe me don't you?"

I nodded.

"And you don't mind me practicing on you?"

I shook my head.

"Okay okay okay!" She shook her hands and head, releasing all nerves and thoughts that once were in her. "Give me your hands."

I placed my hands onto hers, and watched as she did her magic. Her eyes were closed, and she looked actually really peaceful for a while, before a shiver tore threw her and her eyes popped open.

Not wanting to offend her, I pretended to not be concerned. What if she had saw something bad. Like my death or some shit. "So?"

"This is what I got." She smiled and all my fear faded like a sunset. "Well, for starters. You're strong and independent. You make up your own rules and march to the beat of your own drum. You do what you feel is right rather than what other's tell you is right."

"That's good stuff right there," I beamed, suddenly having the urge to break out into dance.

"But that's not all. I got a vision too." She propped her elbows on the table, holding her face in her hands. "I saw you and some mystery man kissing," she teased.

"Who?" I needed to know. I just hoped it wasn't like my last kiss with a drunk dumb jock. That was a mistake.

"I don't know who. I just know that they had the same vibes I got from Stefan. I also know that you two really liked each other."

Same vibes she got from Stefan. That meant he was a vampire. But the only other vampire I knew was Damon.

And that wasn't going to happen. I'd commit seppuku before I allowed that.

"You didn't see anything else? What we were wearing. How he was dressed? Anything."

"Sorry." She shrugged. "I just saw you two kissing."

"What if it was Stefan?" Regret already began forming in me if it was. Elena would be pissed.

"If it was then you'd have some serious apologizing to do to Elena."

Oh my god. This was terrible news. I was not going to get myself involved with some vampire. That wasn't in the plan. Bonnie was wrong. She was a fraud. Or just needed more practice.

"Shit." Bonnie looked down at her cellphone. "I have to go. Grams has been calling me like crazy. I'll talk to you tomorrow, Lea. Thanks again for today," she mumbled, rushing out before I even got the chance to say goodbye.

Marching out of Mystic Falls, noticing how it was no longer daylight out, I still couldn't shake the thought of me actually sharing a kiss with a vampire. And liking it. I probably did it before I shoved a stake in their chest. Because I knew myself well enough to know that I wouldn't get involved with a vamp.

"Hey you." Feeling a tap on my shoulder, I over me shoulder to see who was calling me. A mop of curly blonde hair, dark brown eyes, and a cheesy grin to match, this guy was stranger fucking danger. "Do you mind if I uh, use your phone. You see my girlfriend and I just got into an argument and she left me here. I need to call her an apologize."

My ever so useful spidey senses began tingling as I listened to the way the man spoke and rocked on his heels. Stranger danger wasn't just an ordinary loser, he was a vampire. I got the same feelings I did when I met Damon that I did with him. Evil, carnage, and a bad case of the goosebumps.

"So you and your girlfriend got into an argument?"

"Yeah a big one."

I didn't remember hearing any argument going on while I was inside. Nor did I remember seeing him in there.

"And why can't you use the telephone inside." I tried to camouflage my shaky voice. My bag containing all my shit to fend him off was inside my car. And my car was park in a desolate corner in the parking lot. I was_ soooo_ smart.

"It's broken." His nasally voice was beginning to annoy me. "Look I don't wanna bother you or anything. I just need to use your cellphone so I can get a ride okay?"

"It's inside my book bag in my car." I nodded over to my car and I noticed the quick smile that flinched on his lips.

"Mind if I walk you to it?"

I would've just been better if he had stayed there. Then I could've gotten in my car, pulled out my gun and shot him drive by style. But if he insisted, I wouldn't deny him. Either way, this dude was dead. No pun intended.

"Come on, let's go."

As we walked down the parking lot, a variety of plans traipsed in my head. I could stake him, shoot him, hell, I could run away if I wanted to. But that would mean possibly risking someone's life. The best way to do this was shoot him and end it quick.

He was polite enough to open my car door for me, and help me inside. Grabbing my Hello Kitty book bag, I slowly began rummaging through it, pretending to look for a phone that wasn't in there. My gun however, was.

"Sorry not in there." Why didn't I just pull it out and shoot him? What the hell was stopping me?

"Damn." He scratched the back of his head before pouting his lips. "Mind if I hitch a ride with you?"

"I don't give rides to strangers." Shoot him, Lea! Shoot him!

He moved closer in to me. To the point where he was basically inside my car. His deep brown eyes so close to my hazel ones, I could make out my reflection. "You're going to give me a ride back to my apartment, come inside, and let me bite you."

Well at least he had the decency to take my back to his place. Rather than let an entire bar hear me scream. He'd take me to his apartment where his neighbors would hear me scream. And if I were some random dumb ass girl his compulsion would've worked. But to his dismay, I wasn't. And my vervain anklet warded off that shit.

Why couldn't I kill this bastard. Yeah, this would be my first kill. And yeah, I'd feel terrible afterwards, but it was for the better good. Damn these cold feet. "Yeah I'd rather not."

He gave me some weird look and before he could question it I gave him an answer.

"No. Compulsion doesn't work on me."

His next option was something that made me wish he actually could compel me. Stranger Danger's hands found my throat, squeezing it until I felt like my head was going to pop off. Bag slipping out of my hand as I struggled to remove him off me, I felt the gun slip from my grasp and hit the floor of my car.

So this is how I would die. By the hands of a vampire. How fucking pathetic was I?

Taking in a breath like it was my very first, I realized the vampire was no longer in my car, strangling me. Searching for where he went, I looked outside, seeing him and another man fighting. They were all moving in blurs so I couldn't quite recognize this man's face. But I what I could decipher was his leather jacket, disarrayed black hair, and dark clothing.

If he weren't locked away my guess would be that this guy was Damon.

"What are you doing still standing there, Lea? Shoot him." Okay. Maybe he sounded like Damon. And hell he even said my name in the same glib way he did. But it couldn't be him. "Shoot him!" He growled and all my doubts were washed away.

I reached for my gun, cocking it and pointing it the direction the vampire was moving. Shaky hand, and nervous enough to throw up, the only thing that could keep me from chickening out was that either Damon and I were gonna die or the asshole.

And the asshole had to go.

I shot him, watching him fall to the ground, clutching his stomach. Adrenaline surging in my veins like it was blood, I cocked the gun again, shooting him another time. This time in the head. I covered my mouth, feeling sick to my stomach. I'd killed someone. I took a life away. Someone's son. Possibly someone's dad. I was a horrible horrible person.

Damon picked up the body, walking over to me before throwing him at my feet. Flinching as his hand moved out to me, Damon gripped my chin, peering at me with his cold blue eyes.

"Long time no see, Lea."


	17. Chapter 17

**Yooooooooooooooooo! This story is now under construction! Yayyyyyyyyyy! Wasn't feelin' the direction where the story was going, and my love for Damon/OC stories has suddenly gone into overdrive. So yeah, No Sympathy For the Dead is now being refurbished. The story will still star Lea seeing as though I love writing her and think she's good for Damon. And Damon will still be very much a bad bad boy. None of that post Season one shit they try to pass as Damon. Yuck. **

**But even if the Damon in my story leans more towards a season one Damon, that doesn't mean that's when the story takes place. Y'all can leave comments or pm me saying what you'd want this story to kind of focus on or what you'd like to see. Do you guys want the originals to have a place in the story? Do you want Lea to still be a hunter (she might be)? Do you want it to be a love triangle or square (I have a square in mind. Either including the Salvatore brothers, Lea, and Elena...OR The Salvatore Brothers, Lea, and Katherine). I think it would be interesting to read something like that. But anywho, tell me what you want to see.  
><strong>

**One love.  
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**P.S. While you're waiting for this story to be rewritten and changed, why don't y'all go look in my profile and read my Klaus/OC/Kol story, "Clear Hearts Great Flowers" to hold you over.  
><strong>


	18. Chapter 18

**This is truly the highest grade of fuckery I've seen this site do.**

**Why aren't they allowing people to view the rewrite of this story when I upload it? **

**Unable to locate story code 1. Well fuck your code one bitches. **

**So, apologies to those who cannot read it. **

**I will delete it and try to upload it again tomorrow.**

**If anyone knows why this site is acting up, please tell me why cause I'm pisssed.**

**But for the road, here's a glimpse into the first chapter of the rewrite.**

**. . . **

Waiting up worried sick for your twenty two year old sister to come back home ain't fun. Not at all. Especially when it's three in the morning and you have a killer AP Biology test in the next seven hours. And then to top it all off your sister is out with Damon Salvatore, the biggest dick in Mystic Falls. And _theeeeeeeen, _it wasn't even the fact that Damon was an asshole, it was him being a vampire that was unsettling.

Hell hath no fury like a vampire scorned. Elena choosing Stefan before she was turned into a vampire and even afterwards had Damon all fucked up.

Surprise surprise, I knew about there being vampires in Mystic Falls. That's what happens when you're a founding family member and your parents didn't want to keep it a secret from you like all the other members. Shit comes with some serious perks.

And then there was the fact that not too long ago I was a part of Elena & Co. But that was until I withdrew myself from that doomed group. Elena the Martyr and Stefan the Saint could go sit in the Sun and fry together for all I care.

The thought of venturing out into that good night and searching for them myself was seriously a possibility. In fact, I'd made it outside a couple of times and even got as far as inside my broken down Honda before turning around and pussying out. I wasn't gonna risk humiliating my sister and proving that I didn't have any trust in her judgment. Instead, I'd put my trust in her. And reluctantly Damon who had proven time and time again that trusting him wasn't a smart move.

This was hard. Real hard. Damon was reckless and so was Liv. Well, it wasn't that my sister was reckless as she was easy, and I know that that's messed up to call your sister easy but it was the truth. Breathing air was harder than getting some from her. Like all you had to do was buy her dinner and her legs magically divided. So you see here's the equation we're dealing with.

The biggest dick in Mystic Falls + The easiest fuck in Mystic Falls = Disaster.

Now include me into the equation and this is what you get.

The biggest dick in Mystic Falls + The easiest fuck in Mystic Falls + The biggest badass in Mystic Falls = Goddamn Catastrophe.

And for the record, I'm actually not the biggest badass in town, but I like to think so every now and then. Doesn't hurt.

Commotion coming from outside the back door woke me up from my stupor. Or whatever it was that Fifty Shades of Boring put me in as I tried reading it. Should've known not to trust Liv's reading recommendations. Though I had to admit, it was better than Twilight, which was a big pile of shit wrapped in a decent book cover. Literature these days...

Tossing the book aside, I scrambled from the landing step to the back door, trudging through the dimly house. This had to be those two and I'd catch them red handed. Play these type of games with me and stay out way past Liv's curfew. Yup, I said it, I gave Liv a curfew. Mom and dad ain't try to stop her so I did. Pssh, they knew what went bump in the night. We all did. So why was it that they weren't doing anything to stop her? Was I the only one who gave any kind of fucks?

Grabbing a hold of the brass doorknob, I swung it open, not caring if I may have interrupted their little session. Which of course, I did. There the two were, making out like it they were hormonal teenagers and not grown ass adults. Dude, I'm sure they had plenty of time to play kissy face and do a lot more risque stuff while they were out together, was the tonsil hockey really needed now?

I cleared my throat, prompting Liv to quickly remove herself from Damon after letting out a high pitched squeal of fright. Within seconds of seeing me, her almond shaped brown eyes grew twice their size and she raced inside the house, murmuring both goodbyes to Damon and apologies to me before taking cover in her bedroom upstairs. I embarrassed her. Good. And I'd scold her later. That'll teach her to stay out all night, not return my calls or texts, and have fun with a vampire.

But Damon, Damon didn't care at all that I cut his game of touchy feely short. It was quite the opposite. He looked amused, pinkish lips tugging into that god-awful smirk of his he knew I hated. The smirk alone made me want to slap him. But that desire would be put on hold knowing that he could kill me within seconds if he wanted to. Yeah right, if he tried his ass was grass. He'd have so many council members to answer to. Not to mention my grandma.

So I guess I _could_ slap him if I wanted to. He wouldn't be able to do a thing if he valued his life.

With that in mind, I joined him outside closing the door behind me as I stepped into the frigid December air. Shit it was cold. Winter was terrible. It was one of those dry air type of nights. The type where frost and ice coated your lungs, making it hard for you to breathe. Plus I was wearing a skimpy pair of Hello Kitty pajamas so that didn't help either.

Yup, Hello Kitty PJs. Don't judge me.

"Lea, it's great seeing you again." His tone was light and mocking, knowing full and well that there was nothing great with having to see me. As if we didn't already have a muffed up history and I swore to never deal with Gilberts or Originals or Salvatores or doppelgangers ever again.


	19. Chapter 19

**So yeah. **

**I forgot to tell you all**

**The rewrite to this story is up**

**I'm stupid. **

**"Cold Black Days"**

**That's the title of the story**

**So if you all want to read it**

**Go right on ahead. **

**Thank you!**


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Vampire Diaries, Drama, Romance