"Damon, I'm just going to warn you before you go in, you may get verbally assaulted regarding your singing ability and your outfit," Will tells me.
"Don't worry. I've been berated about much worse things," I smirk.
"You're a brave guy," he says before we enter the choir room.
I see Anna sitting with a gothic-looking Asian girl.
"Who is this, Mr. Schue?" a brunette girl immediately demands.
"I'm Damon, Mr. Schuester's new student teacher. And you are?" I grin, sitting down on a stool.
"Rachel," she says confidently. "Do you have any experience singing?"
"More than you could imagine," I say. "About a hundred years of experience."
She rolls her eyes.
"So, Finn and Rachel, let's run through Come What May."
My favorite song of all time.
Let's hear how they do.
"Never knew I could feel like this
Like I've never seen the sky before
Want to vanish inside your kiss
Every day I love you more and-"
I cut him off by saying: "Mr. Schuester, if I may?"
"Go ahead," he says.
"I think Finn's voice is too high for this song, Will. I don't see how he can get the deep vibrato parts without sounding like a dying manatee," I comment.
"That's what I've been saying, but Rachel keeps saying I can do it if I practice with her," the tall kid informs me.
I look at her and raise an eyebrow.
"Can you do it?" she asks me.
"In fact, I can," I tell her.
"Let's hear it, Matt Damon," she teases.
"Never knew I could feel like this
Like I've never seen the sky before
Want to vanish inside your kiss
Every day I love you more and more
Listen to my heart, can you hear it sings
Telling me to give you everything
Seasons may change, winter to spring
But I love you until the end of time
Come what may
Come what may
I will love you until my dying day," I sing, keeping perfect control of my voice.
Rachel looks dumbstruck, but sings the next verse.
"Suddenly the world seems such a perfect place
Suddenly it moves with such a perfect grace
Suddenly my life doesn't seem such a waste
It all revolves around you," she sings. Her singing voice sounds like Katherine's.
Every goddamn thing reminds me of her.
I shake the thoughts from my mind.
"And there's no mountain too high
No river too wide
Sing out this song and I'll be there by your side
Storm clouds may gather
And stars may collide
But I love you until the end of time," we harmonize. Her hand brushes against mine and she smiles.
"Well, um, yeah. There you have it, Rachel. I can sing," I say uncomfortably, sitting back down.
"You're really good," Anna says bitterly.
"Thank you," I say warily. I expect her to come lunging at my throat. I mean, I did try to strangle her mother.
"I didn't know you could sing," she adds.
"There is a lot you don't know about me, Annabelle," I growl.
"You two know each other?" Will asks.
"We go way back. Don't we, Damon?" she grins.
"Indeed we do," I say.
--
"Damon, what the hell are you doing here?" Anna demands once everyone's out of earshot. We're in the hallway.
"I got a job. Decided I'd do something with my life."
"You don't have a life," she hisses. "What are you really doing here?"
"Pissing off Stefan. He told me not to follow you and Pearl."
"Why would you follow me in the first place?"
"Because he's convinced you were lying to me when you said you haven't seen Katherine in almost 30 years. He thinks you guys are a sorority or something," I say, inspecting my fingernails.
"So you're here to annoy Stefan and start a new life?" she asks, not fully understanding.
"Pretty much… Is that Rachel girl always that insufferable?"
"Pretty much," she says, mocking me.
"I wonder if her blood's as bitter as she is," I muse.
"Don't you dare," Anna growls.
"What do you mean, Annabelle?" I smirk.
"Do not feed on anyone here. They're kind of my friends," she admits sheepishly.
"You're a vampire. You don't have friends," I say.
"Not every vampire is as angry and standoffish as you, Damon. We can have friends. Just look at Stefan."
"His existence revolves around Elena," I snort.
"Your existence revolves around Katherine."
"Why'd you come to Buttfuck, Ohio?" I ask, changing the subject.
"No reason. Just seemed as good a place as any."
"Right."
"So, I gotta get going, Damon. Homework and stuff," she tells me, motioning to her bookbag.
"Of course. Yeah. I have to talk to Schuester anyway. Good seeing you."
She rolls her eyes at me and heads for the doors.
I walk back into the choir room and see Rachel talking to Mr. Schue.
I sit on the risers and inconspicuously eavesdrop.
"Mr. Schuester, I don't think we should axe the song altogether. Noah could take the Ewan McGregor part."
"Puck doesn't like singing solos. The only reason he did in the Acafellas was for cougars and when he sang Sweet Caroline, it was to get you to go out with him because he didn't want to disappoint his mom."
"Artie?"
"Artie can't do the choreography."
"Matt or Mike or Kurt?"
"Rachel, the song is being cut from the set list."
I smile smugly to myself.
I guess she senses that because she looks right at me, eyes narrow.
"I hope you're happy," she growls before stomping out the door.
"I'm ecstatic!" I call after her.
"Rachel can be a little unbearable," Will informs me.
"I've noticed," I chuckle.
A/N: I don't know why, but I thought Rachel and Damon would be an interesting couple. I'll see how this plays out.
I don't own Glee, The Vampire Diaries, or Come What May from Moulin Rouge.
Check out my other stories!