I'd been out with my friends clubbing and decided to get a bus rather than a taxi. I told them I'd be fine, after all the bus stop was a five minute walk around the corner, but when I got there I just kept on walking.
I didn't like the look of the drunken idiots with their hoodies up, so I decided to walk to the train station so that I could catch the bus and there'd be plenty of people around since it acted as a bus station as well.
I didn't bank on them following me as I ignored them and kept walking, the wolf whistles soon turned to jeers and swearing, then they started throwing cans at me.
There was nowhere safe to run to, the shops had shut and since it was pedestrianised anyway there was no one about except homeless people and drunks. I walked faster, not looking back. I suddenly felt a bit of lager from one of the cans drip on me as the can flew too close for comfort over my head.
My blood was beginning to boil; I turned to face them but noticed a boy in a leather jacket standing between the four or five hoodies and me with his back towards me. The hoodies staggered up to him, waving their arms and spouting abuse, to give him his credit, the boy didn't waiver at all. In fact he seemed to be talking to them, almost mumbling as I couldn't hear what he was saying. Whatever he said worked, they seemed to calm down and staggered back towards the other bus stop still shouting and swearing although this time at each other.
The boy turned to face me; he was gorgeous with deep green eyes that reminded me of a dense forest. "Are you alright?" he asked with concern, "yes, thank you." I smiled sheepishly at him; my temper immediately subsided in the presence of such a good looking bloke.
"You shouldn't be out on your own this late at night, it's not safe." He really seemed concerned about me and judging from his clothing and accent his was probably a rich kid from Richmond whose parents had a house on the banks of the Thames. But at the same time there was something about him, about the way he moved, that made the hairs on the back of my neck stand on end. On a different level it had me curious as to why I felt like this, so I decided to be on my guard around him.
"I was going to get a bus but then when I saw those yobs I decided to go to the Station to get one. I thought this would be the safest way," he still had a frown of concern of his face.
"Why didn't you take a taxi?"
"I don't have enough money." He looked thoughtful for a minute, and then said to me "how much does a taxi cost to get you back home?"
"I don't know. I don't usually get a taxi home," he sighed and looked a little annoyed. "I'll pay for your taxi so at least I'll know that you'll get home okay. Come on, I'll walk you to the taxi rank to make sure you're okay."
I asked if I could take his number so that I could pay him back and he told me not to worry. As we walked up to the cab rank there were already a large number of people milling about, having staggered out of the big bar next to it that overlooked the Thames. A girl staggered out of the bar giggling hysterically and a young man who was similarly dressed to the boy who was escorting me sauntered after her, he grabbed her wrist and in one quick movement swung her around and up against him as he leant into kiss her.
"Hello brother. Won't you introduce me to your beautiful new friend?" Came a silky voice from besides me, I turned and saw the man with the leather jacket besides me. He was the most stunning man that I had ever seen with unusual coal black eyes- the type that you can't tell where the pupil ends and the iris begins.
"She's not for you, I'm making sure she gets home safely," said the boy in a cold voice. De ja vu began creeping in, but I couldn't think straight as I'd had a little too much. The boy was in between us but then his brother moved around him quickly and gracefully, almost like a professional ballet dancer. He took my hand and bowed low, kissing the back of my hand before I could stop him; I pulled it away as quickly as I could.
"I'm sorry, but I really have to be going. My boyfriend will be wondering where I am."
"Such a pretty girl shouldn't be out on her own so late at night, why isn't your boyfriend with you? He can't be much of a boyfriend now, can he?" My anger suddenly welled up; the boy put his hand on my arm and shook his head at me, a warning not to take the bait. "Now if you were mine, I'd make sure that I'd be here when you needed me. My name's Damon Salvatore by the way. May I ask your name or can I just call you beauty?"
I went into shock, I must have misheard. "I'm sorry, what did you say your name was?" They were looking at me suspiciously now.
"Damon Salvatore." I gasped and suddenly realised who the boy was.
"Oh my god." I looked around helplessly, there was no escape.
"My reputation precedes me." Damon grinned."Yeah, your reputation for giving young girls a hell of a love bite," the look he gave Stefan was a murderous accusing one and I could feel Stefan's eyes boring into me in turn.
"Actually, I read about you in some books called the Vampire Diaries." The look on both their faces was blank; Stefan started to look around warily. "I don't think this is the place to be discussing this," he said.
"I think you're right, let's all three of us go somewhere more private, I want to hear what you have to say for yourself," said Damon in an ice cold voice as he grabbed my arm hard.
"Ow! Let go! You're hurting me!" I protested, but he didn't even glance at me, he just dragged me towards the big stone bridge that spanned the width of the Thames, ignoring the buses and taxis roaring past.
"Let me go! I'm not going to run away, I'm not stupid!" I was beginning to shout as the pain got worse. "Let her go Damon, people are beginning to look and we don't want anyone to call the police," Stefan said gently to his brother. "Besides, she's right. If she runs we can easily catch her."
Damon obviously liked this reasoning as he let go of my arm which now had red marks the same size and shape of his fingertips.
"Now tell us, how do you know?" Stefan's eyes were now a dark green and hard, his voice was as cold as his brothers. "I told you, when I was a kid I read these books called The Vampire Diaries by an author called Lisa Jane Smith. The first three were based on Elena's diaries, how she met you, the attacks in Fells' Church and how she had to keep Damon's attacks on her a secret to prevent you from attacking him and getting yourself killed." I stared at him accusingly but he raised his eyebrows in a politely incredulous way. "How many are there?" Stefan's voice commanded attention; I gladly turned away from Damon who I could have easily slapped. "Five so far, but there are another two being written."
"What are the other two about?" he asked icily.
"The fourth is about how you and Damon joined forces to bring back Klaus and the fifth is about the Damon being possessed by the Japanese things and him actually showing some regret at being a complete bastard for the past 500 odd years. At the end of the book you're locked up in some castle in another world and Elena and Damon have just been given the clues to find you so they set out on a quest to find them."
Stefan had gone white, Damon was glaring at me and my mobile phone was ringing. I answered my phone and reassured my boyfriend that I was fine and on my way to the bus stop, "I'll ring you when I get on the bus. Speak to you soon, byee!"
I turned to Stefan, "I've told you everything you want to know, I'm not going to tell anyone as they'd believe me anyway so I'm going. Thank you for saving me from those boys." I turned and started the walk back to the bus stop but he was in front of me, "I told you I'd give you money for a taxi. Here," he pulled a wad of notes out and held them out for me to take, I looked him in the eye and told him I'd rather get the bus and started to walk off again, a little unsteadily as I wasn't used to wearing heels and they were killing my feet.
Suddenly I was slung over someone's shoulder, making me scream protest. "If you value your life you'll shut up, my brother will pay for a taxi home for you, a gentlemen always keeps his word and a lady will take a gentlemen at his word."
"I'm no lady in case you haven't noticed, I come from a long line of peasants and I'm proud of it," I had to get my tuppence worth in somewhere. Damon said nothing as he took me back to the taxi rank where Stefan was giving a cab driver a couple of notes and glancing at me over his shoulder.
Damon put me down on the floor, looking amused at my red face and the black looks that I was giving him. He held me close and whispered in my ear "I'll be seeing you, Beauty." I could feel his breath on my ear and it sent a chill down my spine. "Next time you insult me I might not be such a gentlemen, I'd be careful if I were you."
I couldn't help my reaction, I know it was stupid but I was drunk and I didn't think, but then that's always been my problem. I brought my knee up between his legs and then my heel down on one of those soft boots, hearing him hiss in pain. I walked over to Stefan with my head held high and a satisfied grin on my face, his face was a mixture of shock, horror and amusement.
I thanked him and got into the cab which drove off while I told the driver my address. When I got home I decided not to tell my boyfriend about what had happened, he was eager to go to bed as he had work the next morning and wouldn't have believed me anyway. I just prayed that he wouldn't spot any huge crows on the way to work.
About midday the next morning I finally emerged from the house to get lunch, I didn't spot Damon lounging on the gatepost until it was too late.
"Sobered up have we?" he asked, looking me up and down. I wasn't one to care that much about my appearance, especially when hung over, so I looked a bit of a mess with my battered walking boots, flared blue jeans and a baggy jumper that used to be my Dads.
"Get lost," I spat as I brushed past him.
"That's not very nice after what I did for you last night, or don't you remember?" he sounded amused and smug which made me angry.
"I remember exactly what you did for me last night. You grabbed my arm so hard that I've bruises all up it." I pushed my sleeve up and showed him the purple marks on my arms, "I've got nothing to say to you, so go away and leave me alone."
"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to hurt you." I glared at him, he was still wearing his amused expression, it made me want to hurt him in the only way I knew how but I had to bite my tongue. "I want to know more about these books you claim to have read about us. Am I right in thinking that you still have copies that I can read?"
I stopped and stared at him, thinking about lending him my precious copies and the consequences. "Do you promise me that I'll get them back and in one piece?" He raised an elegant eyebrow in surprise and amusement.
"I'll even sign them for you if you want," he grinned. I couldn't help it, I had to laugh at that one, "deal." I said, grinning like a Cheshire cat. "Just one thing though, if Stefan wants to read them then I've no right to say no. Just be prepared for fireworks when he finds out how you forced Elena to give you blood."
I turned around and went back into the house, I had no idea if I was doing the right thing or not but thinking about it I couldn't not let them read the books. I put them carefully in a carrier bag and took them outside to where Damon was still lounging; he didn't even glance in the bag.
"What else do I need to know? You're holding something back," he accused. "Read the books then I'll tell you. You need to read them first anyway, don't look at me like that! You're just going to have to trust me on this one okay."
He accepted this with a nod and then crossed the road and walked in the entrance to the business park where the old dairy used to be. I turned right and walked towards the main road and the park, I groaned inwardly when I saw another black leather jacket at the top of the road.
"Hello again Stefan," I smiled weakly hoping that he wasn't going to ask me about the books.
"I didn't catch your name last night." Uh oh, he wasn't in a good mood from the sound of his voice, "Lizzie Roberts, thank you for all your help last night. How much do I owe you for the cab?"
"Don't worry about it. I wanted to ask you if you still had those books that you mentioned last night." I grimaced and explained that I had leant them to Damon, which seemed to surprise him. "I did tell him that if you want to read them after him you can," he just nodded politely.
"Look, I'm really sorry about some of the stuff I said last night, I was drunk and angry and my mouth ran away with me." He smiled at me in a way that was probably meant to be reassuring, but just looked sad. "That's okay; I already guessed that something like that happened. I don't hold any grudges against him- yet," he winked. But I couldn't bring myself to smile, I felt like a traitor.
"I have to get going. I'll make sure that I bring you the books back after Damon's finished with them."
"Thank you. I guess I'll see you around then." Stefan smiled and walked back down the road, I breathed a sigh of relief and went into the bakers to get some lunch.