Author:- Real Emma Gray

Start Date:- 24th February 2014

Disclaimer:- I do not own The Vampire Diaries or any of the characters. If I did, I wouldn't be so cruel to Damon!

AN:- OK, I am aware that I have a lot of story up, but like I've said before, The Vampire Diaries is my new big addiction, it's all that's running in my head at the moment. Anyway, I came up with this idea, and I just had to write it down. I hope you fans like!

HUMANS AND THE SALVATORES

Chapter One

There were times when Damon wondered why he had ever come back to Mystic Falls. Yes, it may have been his home. Yes, it may have been where Katherine was buried in the tomb. And yes, his favourite past time did involve tormenting his brother, which involved laying the charm on with Elena, both of who happened to live here. But despite these facts in its favour, Mystic Falls still happened to be the one thing Damon hated most. A small town.

In his 150 plus years, Damon had travelled all around the world. London, Paris, New York… he had been to all the major cities. For a vampire, big cities were the best thing. In a big city, no one noticed if he wasn't aging, and a couple more unsolved murders were nothing new. But with small towns, everyone was involved in everyone else's business, and nothing went unnoticed.

Yet here Damon was, back in Mystic Falls. Not only was it a small town, but it was a small town that knew about the existence of vampires. It was without a doubt the worst place he could choose to live in.

Though Damon might not have truly known why he came to this town to being with, he most definitely knew why he still stuck around now.

That's where he found himself now, stood outside her house, looking up at the only light on in the building coming from her room. Climbing the tree outside her room, his usual means of entrance, Damon jumped across onto the roof under her open window, looking in on her with a smile.

She was dressed for bed in a tank top and shorts, lay on her bed, hovering over a drawing pad under her. She was wearing headphones, so she didn't hear him as he softly jumped down into her room. Her shoulder length hazel brown hair was falling down past her eyes, so she didn't see him either as he walked closer to her.

When his shadow fell across her drawing pad, she turned up to him, startled, and nearly rolled herself off the edge of the bed. Damon immediately reached out and pulled her back, sitting her upright.

Sitting up on her bed now, she glared at Damon as she pulled out the earbuds. Damon simply smiled. He would never admit it, but he kinda liked that she wasn't scared of him.

"Why, every time you drop by for a visit, do you relish in scaring the hell out of me?" she snapped out.

"Oh, you know me, Paige. Always like to make an entrance," Damon drawled out, flashing his trademark smirk at the girl sat in front of him.

Paige Fell, another descendent of the Founding Families, and probably Damon Salvatore's one and only real friend.

Being a Founding Family, there was always a Fell on the Council. At the moment, it was the insufferable Logan Fell, that pompous news reporter, and Paige's uncle. So this meant the entire Fell family, except for the younger ones, knew about the history of the vampires in this town. But then there was Paige.

When she had been given a vervain bracelet by her mother, even if she didn't know at the time what it was, and told never to take it off, she had wanted to know why it was so important, and was forced to look for answers on her own. In Mystic Falls, you could only ask so many questions before you got to the answer vampires.

Not too long after that, Damon came into the picture.

That was something else Damon never understood. She always wore vervain, so he couldn't compel her like he did all the women in his life, yet he loved spending time with her anyway. Who knew, maybe that simply fact was why.

Damon had met Paige at a Founders Day event. With both of them being a Fell and a Salvatore, both had been invited. Damon had been entranced by Paige the moment he had laid eyes on her. Sleek hazel hair, blinding green eyes, perfect skin and perfect body… what guy wouldn't be hooked at first glance? But after their first meeting, entranced had changed to intrigued.

As was typical for a bored Damon, he had picked the best looking girl at the party, which had been Paige, and gone to compel her to come home with him. Instead of doing as he said, Paige had simply laughed, held up her bracelet and whispered 'vervain', before turning and walking away.

It wasn't the fact that Damon couldn't compel Paige that made her intriguing. If anything, that fact infuriated him, especially with this girl on this night. No, it was the fact that she knew what he was, yet was so unbelievably calm as she walked away. No running scared, or cowering to her uncle.

After finding her again, Damon and Paige had spent the rest of the night talking. Just talking. With her bracelet and the fact that she had enough vervain in her system to take him down if he tried anything, Paige felt confident enough to ask Damon all the things she wanted to know that she hadn't found out herself.

By the end of the night, despite the fact that he was a vampire and despite her vervain laced threats, the pair had quickly begun to realise that they enjoyed each others company. And they continued to enjoy it too. Climbing into Paige's window had become a nightly routine for him.

Damon smiled to himself slightly thinking about his relationship with Paige, the only person in Mystic Falls, maybe even at all, that he could call his friend, and she was human. Elena, Stefan's human 'friend', knew nothing about what he and his brother were, and Damon had a feeling she'd freak when she finally found the truth, especially with the whole Katherine thing. But him and Paige… they were totally opposite. What did that say about the two of them and their 'relationship'?

"Whatever you say, Damon," Paige's voice knocked him from his thoughts. "What are you doing climbing through my window in the middle of the night all Dawson-like?"

"Dawson-like?" Damon repeated, quirking his eyebrow.

"You know, the show 'Dawson's Creek', where he…." Paige began to explain.

"Yes, I get the reference," Damon interrupted. "I just don't think I like being compared to that soppy git!"

"No, I don't think anyone would ever make that mistake," Paige said, her voice dripping with sarcasm as she tucked her legs under her, sitting more comfortably. "You still haven't told me what you're doing here this late, with my mother downstairs."

"Don't worry, I'll hear her long before she gets to your door," Damon said, flopping down on the bed, resting back contently against the head board. "And what is so wrong with me wanting to spend some time with you?"

"Nothing, I've got used to your nightly, unannounced visits… and I kinda like them. I just thought you might be off somewhere with your new little blonde plaything."

"Caroline? Nah, the yappy little brat was getting boring. Won't ever shut up. So I figured…." Damon trailed off with a glance at Paige, the tone in her voice just now registering with him. "Are you jealous of my 'new little blonde plaything' or something?"

Paige turned to look at Damon, green eyes meeting blue as the corner of her mouth curled up slightly in the smallest of smiles.

"That's not you and me, Damon. Friends don't do jealousy. Besides, I don't have the two requirements for you."

"And what would they be?"

"Well, for starters, you can't compel me."

"Come on, you know I prefer women with a mind of their own… I mean, when they're more than just fast food, which you most definitely are! So, what do you think requirement number two is?" Paige let her eyes slide away from Damon's, a sigh rolling through her body as she fiddled with the corner of the blanket. "What's requirement number two, Paige?" Damon asked again.

"I don't look like someone from your past who you cared about," Paige said, her eyes still transfixed on the blanket and her voice so low only his vampire hearing let him hear it.

"What are you talking about?" Damon asked, the smirk in his eyes this time as he watched her carefully.

"Oh, don't look at me like that, Damon," Paige said with a smirk that could rival his own. "I'm not saying that I'm harbouring deep seated hidden feelings for you. We've already been over that little fact with the Caroline topic. I'm just saying that… what I really mean is…." Paige let out a deep breath to shy away her stuttering, holding Damon's intent gaze as she spoke again.

"What I mean to say is I get it," Paige said more calmly. "I understand what you feel for Katherine, how much you love her. So it only stands to reason when you see Elena, who you said could've been her double, that you're gonna be… I think the word I wanna use is intrigued by her."

Damon just continued to stare into Paige's emerald eyes as she spoke, taking it all in. Intrigued, what a word for her to use… especially when only moments ago he was using that word when thinking about her.

"So I do understand this ingrained connection you're gonna have with someone like Elena," Paige finished.

For a moment, Damon was silent. Paige had dropped eye contact with him a while ago and was now staring adamantly at anything that was the furthest away from him. Damon continued watching her though. Watching the look on her face even though she wasn't looking at him. And he desperately wanted to get that look of poorly disguised disappointment off her pretty face.

There was one story, something he had actually hoped he might never have to tell her, that might make that look go away.

Heaving a deep rolled sigh, Damon scooted over to the far side of the bed, patting the side of the bed he had just moved from. Paige smiled softly, moving to sit beside Damon, who left his arm resting across the top of the bed rest, dangling down over Paige's shoulder.

"You are aware that I can tell when you're lying, right luv," Damon told her. She looked up at him, clearly about to dismiss his comment as she opened her mouth to speak, but he beat her to it. "And I don't mean the thing about having hidden feelings for me. I ain't that conceited."

Though she had closed her mouth now, her eyes were wide open and staring at him, giving him that patent 'seriously' look.

"OK, strike that, I ain't that conceited when it comes to you!" Damon corrected himself, making Paige smirk slightly smugly. "The point I was trying to make is that you can deny it all you want, but I can see it in your eyes. It does get to you, that connection as you call it."

Again, Paige went to protest, this time clearly more adamantly, and this time Damon placed his finger against her lips to quiet her.

"You wouldn't bring it up if it wasn't on your mind," Damon told her, his words this time knocking her words back

When he knew she wasn't going to speak, Damon let his finger slip away from her lips, trailing it down her cheek as he did. His hand had barely met the mattress again when Paige's hand shot out, linking her fingers through his. As close as they were, this was an intimacy line Paige had never crossed before.

"I don't want it to get to me," Paige said, her voice so soft her nearly didn't hear it. "Because I meant it when I said we aren't like that. I love you, but I don't love you… if you know what I mean." Damon nodded, smiling softly and just letting her continue.

"It's just… it's kinda weird to me," Paige admitted. "You're my best friend, Damon… a vampire. That's the norm in this town, so that's not the weird. But being your friend, I listen to you. I hear the way you talk about Katherine and Elena, and… God, I can't say this to you, Damon." Paige ducks her head away, tears leaking from his eyes.

"You said so yourself, Paige, we're friends," Damon spoke gently, squeezing their interlocked hands softly. "What is there you can't tell me?"

"When it comes to Katherine and Elena… things that would make you mad at me."

"I promise you, Paige, that you can say anything to me without me losing my cool."

"OK," Paige murmured, still not looking at him. "I can hear how much you love Katherine when you talk, but I can't say anything because I don't know her. But Elena… sometimes I think you're blinded by the fact that she looks like the woman you love, and you ignore all the real facts about her that everyone else can clearly see. She just automatically gets your respect and care… while those who really care about you have to work twice as hard to get half the outcome."

Paige still adamantly refused to look Damon in the eyes. Damon, however, was staring quite intently at Paige's profile.

She knew nothing about Elena. They may have been in the same year in High School, but that didn't mean anything, they didn't travel in the same circles. And she never saw him with her, so who was Paige to say anything about the way Elena treated him.

Not only that, but she couldn't say anything about what he felt, what was going on in his mind. Who did she think she was? She was just a girl, some stupid high school girl with a romanticised idea of vampires. She was….

She was the one person who knew him better than anyone else on this planet, his own brother included.

Damon took a deep breath in the confines of his mind, calming himself. He had told her he wouldn't get mad, and he would stick by that promise.

There was no reason for him to get mad. Paige was his only true friend in the world, the only person who saw him for exactly what he was and didn't judge him. She told it like it was, was brutally honest with him, and that was one of the things he adored most about her. He would be a complete hypocrite if he was mad at her for a personality trait he encouraged.

Though she may not have been looking at Damon, she could feel the way his body had begun to tense beside her. Despite his promise, he was getting mad. Unsure of what he would do mad, Paige tried to pull her hand away, but he tightened his grip slightly. With his other hand, he turned Paige's head to finally look him in the eyes. She breathed a sigh of relief when she didn't see a hint of anger in his eyes.

"Is that really how you feel, Paige?" Damon asked delicately.

"I'm sorry… but yeah, it is," Paige said softly. "And nothing can change that… connection you have."

Damon took a deep breath, intending to get back to the story he had originally wanted to tell her. He moved her arm back up to round her shoulders, this time resting on her skin, pulling her in slightly. Instinctively, her head lay against his shoulder.

"So what if I was to tell you that… that was the case with you?" Damon announced, also moving instinctively as he let his head rest against hers.

"What are you talking about?" Page asked.

"Well, have you ever seen any old pictures of your ancestors?" Damon asked.

"Are you kidding me? My mum doesn't have pictures of present family members clogging up our 'show home', what use would she have for people that are long dead," Paige said with a small, sad laugh.

"OK, good point," Damon agreed. "OK, well have you ever heard of special genetic multiplicity? It's this theory where if you go back far enough, you can get a genetic copy within a family. You know, looking like someone from centuries ago, or diseases passing through the blood line, or even…."

"Damon, you wanna get to the point some time soon," Paige said, turning to look up at him with a soft smile.

"If that's what you want. In 1864, when I was still human, I knew the Founding Families, being one myself. And one of them was Bridget Fell… your old ancestor. She was my age, and probably the best friend I had. If I had never met Katherine, I know me and her would have…. Anyway, when I first met you, you were… I mean you just…."

"The genetic copy thing you were talking about," Paige finished for him. "I look exactly like Bridget."

"Almost," Damon said with a smile. "Your body types are a little different, your eyes are a lot brighter than hers were, and your lips are…."

Damon ducked his head away as he said that, almost embarrassed. He failed to notice those lips he had thought about maybe a little too much quirk up into a smile.

"OK, well…." Damon continued. "It's not just about looks. You really are like her… and she's the only person I miss from my human life. Maybe that's why I feel so comfortable with you, because… look, I'm gonna tell you something that I've never told anyone. Sometimes, just occasionally… I miss being human, I miss my human life. Bridget was a real big part of that life, so with you… when I'm with you, just for that time… I can feel like I did back then, when I was human. And I gotta say, I kinda like that."

Paige kept her eyes on Damon the whole time he spoke, that smile still on her lips. Damon looked up at her this time, finding that the smile had grown bigger, reaching her sparkling eyes.

"See, now you're laughing at me," Damon said with a scowl. That, of course, only made Paige's smile turn into an actual laugh.

"No, I actually think its kinda sweet," Paige said through her laughter.

"I'm not sweet!" Damon said in mock indignation. "I'm the bad boy, remember, the rebel. I'm the…."

Whatever Damon was about to say didn't come out. He trailed off as Paige, who's head was already resting against his shoulder, curled further into his side. She tucked her legs underneath herself, curled in a tight ball against Damon's side, and she let her hand rest on his shoulder under her head.

"You're not the bad guy, Damon," Paige said softly from her intimate position against the vampire. "Not with me." Damon smiled sweetly down at the girl next to him, who had her eyes closed as she got comfortable against his side. But she still wasn't finished.

"Vampire or not Damon, you still need that little link to your humanity to stop you becoming the real monster. And I'm glad it can be me."

Damon said nothing to that. He just lay there on Paige's bed, with her by his side, thinking about how right she was. She was his only link, his only safety rope, to his good side, and it had nothing to do with the resemblance to Bridget. It was all Paige, the girl who was falling asleep on his shoulder.

Damon smiled as he got comfy. He wouldn't be here when she woke up, but for a few hours he would bask in his 'humanity' as she slept peacefully.

AN:- OK, the start of my first proper, multi-chapter Vampire Diaries story. This was just sort of a way to introduce Paige, but still, I wanna know what you guys think, if it's OK so far. You know I love my reviews!