You don't want me, no
You don't need me
Like I want you, oh
Like I need you

It was quiet. The wind had stopped blowing through the trees and the crickets had stopped their chirping. Damon slowed his pace until he was standing still. He looked around him; the sky was very dark, for it had been raining earlier that day, however there were a few stars that shawn through the thick blanket of perspiration, along with the big white moon. He let out a sigh and was about to take a step forward when all of a sudden, the wind picked up and there was a large snap somewhere in the woods surrounding him. For a moment he hesitated, then took off running. It took him a few seconds to realize which way his feet had led him and he began to question himself until he smelled it.. that disgustingly beautiful metallic smell. It was blood, human blood.

When he finally reached the spot where the scent had originated from, he found himself at the side of the highway. He looked around and into the night he could see two faint red glows from the taillights of a car. He quickly, but cautiously, walked towards the mangled metal container. It was on its top and the front was smashed in, making it look like it had hit something rather large; maybe a deer or a cougar. Once he realized that no one was in the vehicle, he slowed his breathing and listened. He could hear passing cars from the other side of the freeway, and the soft flow of the river that ran through this strange town he called home. Just as he was about to give up, he could hear a slight gargle. His face scrunched in confusion, wondering what that sound could be made by, only to realize that it was the sound of someone choking on their own blood. A sound that had grown so familiar to Damon throughout his unnatural life.

He darted forward down the highway, a few yards from the car, to the right side of the ditch. In the depths of the overgrown grass he could make out the figure of a human girl on her stomach. He could see the bright glimmer of blood around the girl. The overwhelming stench of blood coursed through his system, making his throat ache with thirst. To kill, or not to kill: that was the question. She was already dying, of course.. so no one would really care if he fed, right? Images of Rose, Elena, and even Jessica flashed through his mind. He didn't have to always be a monster, did he? Damon growled in frustration, but before he could sort out his dilemma, the girl had heard him.

It was now or never.

"Please, please help.."

'You don't have to do this, Damon.' Elena and Rose rang in his head, 'You don't have to be a monster..'

He let out a deep sigh and trudged into the ditch where there was a damsel in distress. A damsel coated in her own sticky, delicious, blood. Damon shook the thought from his head and held his breath as he knelt down to retrieve the girl. By this time, she had lost so much blood that her brain had blocked her consciousness as a defense mechanism. He tried his best to avoid looking at her as he made his way back town. He knew that if he caught sight of the blood that was now soaking into his shirt, he wouldn't be able to control himself. He just wanted to get her back to town and drop her off at the hospital. That's all he had to do and then Elena would be so proud of him. It would make him one step closer to proving to her that he wasn't a monster. One step closer to her loving him.

Once Damon was only a few blocks away from the hospital, he realized something very peculiar. It had appeared that the bleeding had stopped, and the wounds had begun to heal. He panicked slightly; was this a new born vampire? But how on earth would she have had vampire blood in her system? Maybe she was a werewolf.. there had been a full moon that night. But then why wouldn't she be transformed? Thousands of scenarios ran through Damon's mind as he stood there with this strange girl in his arms. The only way to get an answer would be to wait until she regained consciousness. He groaned in displeasure: waiting would mean he would have to bring her back home.

'Please, just come home. We can talk about this.. we can fix it. I love you so much. You're the only girl I've ever loved.. the only girl I ever want to love. Please, babe.. come home.'

'I'm not coming home, not this time.. not after what you did to me. I told you I'd give you one more chance. You did so well for so many years, I really thought you changed. Obviously I was wrong. I'm not giving you another chance. I never want to hear from you again. I hope you realize how big of a mistake you made. You've lost me forever.'

Damon sighed as the girl in his bed tossed and turned. She had begun crying in her sleep earlier, but Elena had stroked her hair which seemed to calm her down. Soon after Elena went home she started again, so Damon climbed into bed with her and done as Elena had. The last time he was in this position was when Rose had been bitten by Jules. The tossing, the turning, the crying out for someone; it had all been the same. Only for Rose, it was one, two, three and she was gone forever. Something in Damon had snapped that night, and he was determined to make sure it didn't happen again. He was convinced that if this girl died, so would the last remaining bits of his humanity. It would be a sign that he wasn't meant to be good. That he was meant to be the monster that Katherine had created.

"Where am I?"

Damon looked down at his abdomen where the girls head had been resting. He studied her face, looking for any indication of what she was. Wide earthy eyes stared back at his icy blue ones. They were surrounded by thick black lashes which were curved from being pressed up against lenses that Elena had removed earlier. Her pale skin was almost as white as snow, but her full lips stood out against it, as they were a soft rose - along with her dark brown hair. If Elena and Stephan could ever have a child, this girl surely would be the product of the outcome.

"You're in Mystic Falls."

The girl removed herself from Damon's grasp and slowly sat up, quickly grabbing her head with her left hand, indicating she had a horrible headache. Which, who wouldn't after the night she had been through? She squinted as she looked around the room, locating her glasses on the nightstand and slipping them on. "Who are you? What happened last night? How did I get here? Did we have sex?"

"Uh.. no, we didn't." Damon told her slowly. "I'm Damon Salvatore and this is my home. I'm not sure what happened to you last night, but when I found you, you were face down in the grass, choking on your own blood about twenty yards away from your car."
"I was on the phone and then out of nowhere there was a wolf in the middle of the road.. I swerved at an attempt to not hit it, but lost control because of the traction thanks the rain. All I remember after that is hitting the wolf, going into the ditch, and passing out.." she let out a deep breath and then looked at Damon, "Where is my car now?"

"It's in the garage. My brother and his girlfriend went to get it last night after I brought you home. It's completely totaled."

"Hah, you think it's bad now? You should have seen it when I first started fixing it." A small curve appeared in the girl's lips, and then quickly faded. "Did you find my phone?"

Damon shook his head and then nodded when she asked if she could use his at some point, after saying that she didn't really think that it mattered, because no one would be looking for her. The entire time she talked, all Damon could look at was the large black ring on her delicate finger. A ring that had a very disturbing resemblance to the ones that Jeremy and Alaric wore. Did she know what it was, or had it been a gift like Isobel had given Alaric when they married? Surely if she knew the powers it had, she'd know who he was.. right?

"Oh, by the way, I'm Aria." the girl smiled and held out her hand, "Thank you for saving me."

"Where is she?"

Damon looked up from his book to see Stephan and Elena walk into the den, hand in hand He cringed at the sight before replying. "She's having a shower."

"Does she have extra clothes?" Elena asked, "I brought her some just in case but I don't think we're the same size."

"Yeah, she had a duffel bag of stuff in her trunk." Damon told her absentmindedly as he continued to read his book. After a few moments of silence, he looked up. "What?"

Stephan looked away from Elena, towards his elder brother, "Why do you think she had a duffel bag? Think about it, Damon. She has one of those rings; maybe she was running away from something."

"Or someone." Elena added.

"Come on, guys. She's 5'6 and around 120 pounds. I hardly think she's dangerous. Even your kid brother could take a piece out of her." Damon chuckled at the thought, "Besides, if she is, we have three vampires, a witch and doesn't Caroline have that Lockwood kid on our side too? We'll be fine."

"Hey guys." Aria waved timidly as she descended the stairs. She was wearing a white t-shirt, black pants and a black leather jacket.

"Damon, someone raided your wardrobe." Stephan chuckled quietly. Elena hit him lightly on the arm, "Stephan, stop it."

"Thanks for bringing my car back." Aria smiled as she leaned against the wooden arch in the door, glancing towards Damon momentarily. "Do you guys happen to have any tools?"

"For what?" Stephan asked sceptically.

"To fix my car.." Aria told him slowly, not liking the tone he was giving her. "Is there a problem with me staying here?"

"No!" Damon shouted, then cleared his throat, "Excuse my brother, he's not used to company. Yes, we have tools and I will show you where they are, after we run a few errands."

"Well, alright. Thanks, Damon." Aria nodded, "Are we headed out now, then?"

Before Damon could answer, there was a loud knocking coming from the front door. Everyone exchanged quick glances before Stephan got up to answer it. He quickly made his way to the large redwood door and opened it to see Caroline standing outside, terror in her eyes. She rushed past Stephan and began walking quickly down the hallway to the den.

"It's Tyler, Stephan. He knows! He knows that you and Damon are-" Caroline cut her sentence short once she laid eyes on Aria. She quickly shot an apologetic look towards the brothers, "I'm sorry.. I didn't know you had.. company."

"It's alright, Caroline." Stephan assured her, "I'll go talk to Tyler.."