Behind blue eyes
Chapter 1: So cold
A/N: I don't own anything except for my mistakes and OC. I sometimes changed situations so it will make more sense for my story. Also, Zach is out of the picture and Damon won't fall in love with Elena. It may happen that I use phrases from the movie, but I'll try to keep that to a minimum and only do it when I think it is fitting enough. This takes place at season 1.
A loud sigh escaped her lips as she slammed her head against the desk. A deep chuckle was heard behind her and she slowly lifted her head up, staring into the mirror that was hanging above her desk with a gold frame around it.
Her reflection showed a young girl, blonde curly locks framing her face and a pair of blue eyes drifted to the man standing in the doorway, who was looking back at her through the mirror with a genuine smile on his face. As he neared, she could make out the bowl he was holding in his hand and he placed it on the desk as soon as he reached her.
As she looked into the bowl, she could see pieces of her favorite fruit laying in there: grapes, strawberries, apple and mango. The man placed a sweet kiss on the top of her head, "Don't overwork yourself, okay? Studying for hours without a break is as effective as not studying at all." He said with a smile and she chuckled.
"I won't." She said and then looked at the book laying in front of her that displayed text she didn't understand at all. The man was about to walk away and leave her be, when she called out to him: "Stefan, can you please explain this to me?" She said and he stopped in his tracks, turning back around again and looking over her shoulder to see what she was talking about.
She was studying history at the moment, which didn't come very natural to her. She just didn't have that much interest in history, after all, the past is in the past, right? Yet, deep down, she felt slightly obligated since the man that has been taking care of her as long as she can remember, has actually lived there in the past.
Yes, sometimes a vampire of over 160 years old could be quite useful to explain history to you. Closer to the truth you couldn't get with that. So, there he was, explaining everything in great detail as to what she had to know, and only focusing on that. Telling it interesting enough for her not to get bored and sharing situations with her that happened in the past.
A half hour later, she understood more of the subject than the days of studying did. She thanked him for both the fruit and the help with a grateful smile and then finally asked him the question that she had wanted to ask for a while now.
"So, tell me, how did that goofy smile get on your face?" She said, noticing how much happier he had been lately. Nearly everyday she woke up to see him smiling, making her wonder what she had missed out on.
Stefan told her about the girl he met, Elena Gilbert was her name, and how they were slowly growing closer. At first, she was really happy for him, because after all those years, he deserved some happiness. Yet, after he saw Elena's picture, she got a little doubtful. She was more than up-to-date with his past, and happened to know a girl that looked just like Elena. So she couldn't help but wonder if that's why he liked her.
Yet, she also knew that it was none of her business, so she just kept quiet and instead focused on the joy that she felt to see her caregiver happy. Stefan had taken her in when she was just four years old, wandering around in the woods late at night, crying, after she came downstairs only to find the house empty, parents gone. Stefan had found her in the woods, and when he discovered that her parents left her on her own, he decided to take her in and take care of her. And now ten years later, he was still happily making sure that she was feeling happy and loved.
She didn't see him as a parent, more like an older brother. And she was forever grateful to him, for taking her in and raising her like she was his own sister. Sure, the fact that he was a vampire, looking for bunnies to drain of their blood that night that he found her was a strange thought. Yet, it didn't bug her very much. Stefan made sure to tell her as soon as he knew she could handle the truth, which had been around six years ago. She had known him too well by now to see him as a monster.
She was aware of the fact that this Elena girl didn't know what he was yet, so she could only hope that she could see the good in him and not to be scared away by what he really was.
She yawned and he smiled, looking at her whilst laying on his side. "You should go to sleep, it's getting late." She knew that he was right, but she was laying very comfortable and she liked the conversation that the two of them were having at the moment. "Tell you what," he said, reading the uncertainty on her face like a skilled reader who knew all her emotions by just a simple twitch in the muscles of her face. "why don't you wash up, and when you get back, I'll tuck you in like old times." Stefan said with that loving smile and she smiled back and nodded.
Slowly she got off the bed and didn't waste a second to get to the bathroom, taking a quick shower, brushing her teeth and pulling a red sweater over her head as a pajama. She put her caramel blonde hair into a simple braid that hung over her shoulders and then left the bathroom, making her way back to the bedroom.
Stefan was still in the position he was in before she left, now casually reading through her history schoolbooks. "As a person who has lived longer on this earth than these books, it is very frustrating to read about all the wrong information they give you at history." She laughed, "Well, they aren't really expecting such an old vampire to check their work." He chuckled, "No, probably not." He said and then patted at the spot next to him.
She slipped into bed, welcoming the warmth that it gave her. Stefan pulled her a little closer to him and wrapped both his arms around her and their breathing slowly got into rhythm as they closed their eyes and enjoyed the silence.
Memories came back from when she would lie her with him like this when she was younger. Without saying a word, enjoying the presence of each other. Loving the comfort and the protective feeling she got whenever she was around him. Without even noticing, she slowly started to fall asleep, and the only thing she heard before she entered her dreams, was a soft, "Sweet dreams, Candice." in her ear.
With a loud bang she was taken out of her peaceful sleep, and she shot right up into bed. Scared, she looked around her in the dark, and quickly turned the light on her nightstand on. Still half asleep, she threw the covers off her and got out of her bed, running downstairs with a thumping heart. "Stefan?" She desperately called out as she moved to the sound she heard outside.
Candice knew that it wasn't very smart to move towards the sound, God knows what was going on. But laying in her bed wouldn't make things safer anyway.
The front door opened and when she saw a guy with dark hair walking in, her heart started to thump madly. She was mentally beating herself up for not bringing any weapons with her, but all her worries left her when she saw Stefan walking in through the front door as well.
When they both entered the living room, she could slightly make out who the other person was. It was Stefan's brother: Damon Salvatore. "Sorry, Candice. Didn't mean to wake you." Damon said with a grin as he headed straight to the alcohol. "Nice to see you too, Damon." She grumpily said, blaming him for interrupting her peaceful sleep.
Stefan wrapped his arms around Candice with an apologetic face, "I'm really sorry about that, let me bring you back to bed." He said and she smiled, about to decline his offer, telling him she could walk back upstairs when she suddenly remembered the warm fuzzy feelings she had before she went to sleep.
So, with those feelings in her mind, she let him walk with her upstairs. "Sweet dreams, my dearest Candice." Damon called after her with a sarcastic undertone to it and Candice just rolled her eyes. She was highly well aware of the fact that Damon still didn't come to terms with Stefan's decision to adopt a human and to raise it.
Once they were back in her room, she quickly jumped back into bed. He kissed her forehead and turned off the lights, "Goodnight, Stefan." Candice whispered in the dark. "Goodnight." He said and before she knew it, she was back to sleep.
That was, until she was once again woken up. This time, however, it was her alarm clock. With a groan she turned it off and looked at the time that told her it was ten minutes past seven.
Very slowly she got up and out of bed, walking to the bathroom and briefly washing up, throwing a simple outfit on. Light blue jeans with a white tank top and grey vans would have to do the job today. She combed her hair and put it in a messy bun and then headed downstairs.
Candice scanned the room with her eyes only to end up disappointed when she didn't see Stefan. She walked to the kitchen and saw Damon sitting at the dinner table, reading the newspaper. "Where's Stefan?" She asked as she poured herself a glass of orange juice. "I don't know, try the cupboard. He might be hiding in there." Candice rolled her eyes and then made some cereal and sat in front of him, taking small bites whilst focusing on the paper in his hands.
"I didn't know that Damon Salvatore read the newspaper." She said and he looked up at her, "Well, I have to know what I missed out on, don't I?" He said and she shrugged, "I guess."
He continued reading and she kept on staring at him, taking in his features. His hair was a bit longer than she remembered from when he came six years ago but his demeanor was still the same as she remembered. Still the sarcastic, cocky and highly selfish Damon Salvatore. Yet, even though she would never admit it, he did look good despite his terrible personality.
"I know I'm hot, but can you please stop staring at me?" He suddenly spoke up with a smirk and Candice scraped her throat, looking away. And then let out a sarcastic laugh, "Yeah, very hot." She scoffed and then took the last bite of her cereal. "Damon?" She asked and he raised his eyebrow in a question manner. "Why did you come back?" She said as she stood up.
She was curious about that the minute she saw him. Normally, he made it very clear as to why he came back, and most of the time, he would be gone not long after he arrived. So she was quite surprised that he was still here now.
"I live here." He stated as if that answered all her questions. Candice rolled her eyes, "I know that, but you're just never here. So, why are you now?" She asked.
"Just enjoying the nice weather in Mystic Falls." He said with a forced smile and Candice sighed. This was hopeless, she wouldn't get an answer from him. So that's why she grabbed the brown leather bag of the table and walked away, out of the house and making her way to school.
Damon hadn't even been a few weeks in Mystic Falls and he already managed to screw over the town. He used Vicki Donovan, later turned her into a vampire and then had her killed because she just simply failed at being a vampire. He had also been kept in the basement for a while, calling out to Candice a couple of times in hope she would set her free, but she refused to go down.
Let's also not forget about how he used Caroline as his personal blood bag and tried to kill the history teacher, Alaric Saltzman, but miserably failed when it turned out that Alaric had a ring that resurrected him. Surprisingly enough, they ended up as friends.
The worst thing he did since his return, however, was killing Lexi. The two Salvatore brothers didn't have a very good bond, but slowly with the help of Stefan, it started to get just a tiny bit better. That was, until Damon killed Stefan's best friend.
Candice, however, hasn't been very actively participating in all the events. She was just very busy with school and besides that, she didn't want to get too mixed up with all that. And neither did Stefan, so they all excluded her as best as they could. That didn't mean that Stefan didn't tell her all that happened, though.
Lost in her thoughts, she didn't realize she was falling down the stairs until she nearly hit the ground. If it wasn't for Stefan's vampire speed, she would certainly have broken her neck. The strong arms of Stefan held her up as she was trying to stand on her own at the bottom of the stairs. "Are you okay?" He asked worried and Candice laughed relieved, "Yes, I'm good. Thank you." She said and he smiled and they both walked into the living room and saw Damon sitting there. By the looks of it, it seemed like they were all talking about something.
Candice rubbed her left arm with her hand but hissed in pain when she touched it. Both of the Salvatore brothers were now looking at her, and when Candice looked at her arm, she could see a deep cut which was pushing out a great amount of blood. She looked up and saw the veins on Stefan's face appearing. Damon must have noticed as well as he stood up and walked over to the both of them.
Damon put a hand on his brother's shoulder, "Stefan." Was all he said and after a few seconds, Stefan snapped out of his haze and slightly nodded at Damon before walking away.
Candice had her hand covered over the wound and felt the blood dripping slowly over her arm. She looked at the man in front of her and studied his face now that she had the chance to see it so up close. His dark brown hair reached just over his ears and his high cheekbones and his solid jawline created a very attractive look. Not to forget about the extreme blue eyes that were intensely staring at her.
His hand reached out to her hand that was laying on her arm, and for a split second, she thought the worst. But he surprised her as he just simply inspected the wound and then walked away, only to return not much later with a First Aid Kit.
Wordlessly, he cleaned the wound and removed the blood from her arm and hand with a wet towel. He finished it off with a band-aid and then smirked, "That smelled delicious." He said and winked at her.
Candice let out a sarcastic laugh, "Yeah, sorry, I can't help it. I'm just that good." She said and added a dramatic hair flip and then grinned as she took the box out of his hands, "Thanks." She quickly said and then put the box where it belonged.
"I heard from Stefan that you are planning to release Katherine from the tomb." Candice suddenly said. Damon nodded, "Yeah, I'm working on it." He said and she looked at him doubtfully. With all her respect, she found it quite silly to spend your entire existence trying to get your beloved one back. Although, on the other hand, she couldn't help but find that really sweet. To love someone so much you are willing to do everything to get them back.
Candice looked at him a little longer and he sighed, "What is it?" He asked annoyed and probably expected her to make a judgy comment. "Why do you hate me?" She honestly asked him, spontaneously switching the subjects.
Damon raised a surprised eyebrow but then chuckled, "I could ask you the same question." Candice scoffed, "Isn't the answer quite obvious? You're bad and do horrible things. Isn't that reason enough?"
"For small-minded people, it is." He said and then took a sip of his bourbon, "It's not that I hate you. I'm just not very excited about your existence. That's all." He said, answering her question.
"Because I'm just a silly little human that should have never found its way to Stefan?" She guessed but he shook his head. "No, because you're an annoying little human that needs protection 24/7. It's very time consuming and highly unnecessary."
"Annoying? You sure do have an opinion very quickly." She scoffed and then furrowed her eyebrows in aggravation. "How long have you actually known me? Three weeks?" She said and he took another sip of his drink and heaved a sigh. "Look, it's nothing personal. But, just so you know, I'm not going to hold this conversation with a fourteen year old."
Candice looked at him in disbelief. Was he seriously feeling almighty because he happened to be over 160 years older than her? "Whatever, have it your way then." She said and turned around, ready to walk away when he said something to her. "Really? You're just going to walk away?"
"Well, yes, I wouldn't want to annoy you with my existence." She said and he just looked at her like she was an idiot. "I just told you that your existence is worthless to me and you just take that and leave?" He said, clearly confused.
"That was my plan, yes." She simply said and he neared her. For over a minute they just looked at each other, him trying to read her, and her trying to understand him. A smirk broke out on his lips and Candice scrunched her eyebrows in confusion, "I can't wait to see you all grown up." He smugly said and then walked away, brushing slightly against her as the front door opened. "Hey, brother." Damon said and she could hear him smacking his shoulder and then the front door closed again.
"Everything okay?" Stefan asked Candice as he saw her dumbfounded face. She nodded her head absentmindedly and then remembered why he left. "Are you?" She asked genuinely concerned and he nodded with a smile. "Sorry about earlier."
"Don't worry about it." She replied with a smile and then grabbed her leather jacket of the couch. "I'm heading out for a little while, I'll be home before dark." She said and he nodded, "Call me when something is wrong." He said. "I will." Candice slipped into her shoes and walked out of the house, hearing Stefan shout a "Be careful!" and then closed the door with a chuckle and said something without raising her voice, knowing very well that he could still hear her. "I will." She said with a laugh, enjoying the protective tone of Stefan. Sometimes he could act like a real father.
Her feet aimlessly dragged her along the streets, trying to find a place where she could let all the thoughts into her head. One thing mainly present in her mind, a few simple words that kept repeating itself like a mantra, trying to figure out the meaning behind it.
I can't wait to see you all grown up. What exactly did he mean with that?
