Alright! So this is my crossover of, of course, the Vampire Diaries and the Mortal Instruments, my two favorite series. Please note that yeah, this is going to contain spoilers for both (mostly for Mortal Instruments, as the storyline is heavily based on what happens in that), so keep that in mind while reading.

Now the timing. For the Mortal Instruments, it takes place after the series has ended, when everything with Valentine and whatnot has been settled, and they are now back at the Institute in New York City, with Alec and Isabelle's mother, Maryse, taking over for Hodge, as well as having Jocelyn and Luke actively helping out.

For the Vampire Diaries, it takes place after book four, when Elena has come back to life. Shinichi and Misao are still evident, but I've decided to change what happens next (because I hated Stefan not being there for two, very long books -.- )

So there. With that being said, I hope you enjoy it! Feel free to review (criticism is welcome, but please be nice :3 ) annnnd away we go! :D

"Keep your head down," I chanted to myself. "Keep your head down. Don't make eye contact. Don't make eye contact."

Head down, not making eye contact, I hurried past the strange-looking man who called out to me. His voice had almost a taunting tone to it, like he knew something I didn't. Little did he know, I knew a lot more than he realized.

He was tall, leaning against a brick wall. His inky black hair fell messily to his shoulders, and even not looking at him, it was hard to miss his intense blue eyes.

Sounded like a dream, right? Sounded gorgeous?

Well, maybe he would be if not for the horns protruding from his head, the strange, fin-like blades attached to his bare arms, and his claw-like fingernails. He grinned jagged, pointed teeth at me.

He was attractive, sure. He also wasn't human.

You would think that on a crowded New York City street, with tons of people milling about, that someone would notice this completely out of place, inhuman character. I mean, he had horns for Christ's sake.

But, as usual, no one noticed. They never noticed. They only saw a tall, handsome teenager trying to score a girl. Totally normal.

Except it wasn't.

I knew the routine by now. Ignore them, but act as though they're any other person. Don't treat them differently. Act uninterested.

I'd had to teach this to myself, of course. It's not like I could tell my mom, "Hey guess what? I'm a seventeen year-old girl who sees monsters!"

That would get me locked up for sure.

I'm sure by now there were rumors among these… monsters, that a human girl could see their true form. Or see them at all, for that matter. Some had this strange, barrier-type thing that, at first, I'd had to peel back in order to see them. They were hidden to the human eye.

As I'd grown older, this barrier had vanished completely. I saw them totally as they were, and for some reason, this fact made me terribly interesting to them and again, I don't know why, but mostly repellant to everybody else.

Ignoring his flirty calls with years of practice, I pushed through the crowded sidewalk and continued on my way to my boring job.

Well, mostly it was boring. I worked in a coffee shop that, depending on the time of day, completely varied in customer flow. It was slammed in the mornings, right up until after lunch. Then at night, they usually had live music or poetry readings, so of course it was busy then too.

Right now, it was Saturday afternoon, about 2:00. I didn't even get to work these busy shifts. I was in a long day of sitting at a counter, staring blankly into space. Joy.

There was an electronic beeping that signaled my arrival. The girl working the cash, Mindy, glanced up in excitement.

"You're here!" she cheered, removing her apron and hanging it haphazardly on the hook. She grabbed her purse and headed past me, for the door. "And I'm outta here. Later Skye!"

Sighing, and dreading what was to come, I headed for the back room, throwing my bag down on the lunch table. I punched my number into the keypad on the wall, as well as Mindy's, because she always forgot to punch herself out.

I returned to the front and retrieved her discarded apron, tying it around my waist. I then pulled up a stool to the counter and plopped down into it.

"Ready for excitement!" I muttered.

Several minutes into my shift the phone rang. As I got up to answer it, I plastered a huge smile on my face. This always helped with my fake-nice voice.

"Java Joe's, Skye speaking!" I chirped, cursing the world.

"Hey Skye!" a cheerful voice greeted me.

"Simon?" I asked. "Hey, what's up?"

"I need a favor. Can you check the red couch for a wallet? I think I might have left mine there last night."

I twirled the phone cord around my finger, eying the red couch that at the moment, seemed so far away.

"It's 2:00," I told him irritably. "Why didn't you call Mindy and ask her?"

"I don't trust Mindy," he said seriously. "So anyways, could you check? I'd hate to pull you away from whatever thrilling task you're no doubt doing, but…"

"One moment, please hold," I said in a deadpan voice. I cut off his laughing by pressing "HOLD" and hanging the phone up. My feet seemed to drag as I made my way over to the couch. Stupid Simon, forgetting his wallet. If I was going to be stuck here all day, I certainly didn't want to have to move from my stool…well, save for making coffee that is.

I lifted one cushion, and there it was- a brown, worn leather wallet. I picked it up and thumbed through the money, taking out a five dollar bill and sticking it in my jeans pocket. He wouldn't miss it.

"Brown leather?" I asked him when I returned to the phone.
"That'd be it!"

"Yeah it's here."

"Cool, so I'll stop by in a few and pick it up?"

"I don't care what you do," I said, only half-joking. "Later."

I returned to my glorious stool and sat, placing my chin in my palms and absently examining the chipped black paint on my nails.

It seemed like barely a minute had passed before Simon waltzed though the door, acting jokingly like he owned the place.

"Did you teleport?" I asked with a laugh.

He grinned, and I couldn't help it- my heart fluttered. It's not that I felt that way about him- believe me, I'd known Simon pretty much my whole life. We'd been in the sandbox together. He was just a good friend. Still, when a guy as quirkishly handsome as him flashes a smile you're way, it's nice.

"What can I say? I'm fast," he replied, running a hand though his ruffled brown hair.

I rolled my eyes, holding up his wallet. "Coffee while you're here?" I offered.

He took his wallet, and as he shoved it into his pocket, I could have sworn he shivered in response. "Nah, I'm good. Not much for the stuff anymore."

"Are you kidding?" My eyes widened in shock. I hadn't seen as much of Simon as usual this past while, but I'd seen him enough to know he was changing. After overcoming his awkward years, he'd been pretty cute, sure, but lately he'd abandoned his glasses and was now the dream guy of every girl who knew him. He'd just suddenly gotten even better looking- his hair was glossier, his eyes more intense- and not just his looks had changed. It was also his personality. He was much more confident, and it seemed like every time I saw him he was with a different girl. Totally different from before, when the only girl he'd even look was Clary Fray, the love of his life.

And now he "didn't drink coffee"? It was weird. He used to drink at least three times a day.

He shrugged. "Too much caffeine is bad for you anyways."

"Simon," I said hesitantly. "Um, what's been going on with you lately?"

"What do you mean?" I noticed him tense ever-so-slightly.

"I dunno, you just seem…different."

"'Different'?" he repeated, cocking an eyebrow. "How so?"

"I dunno," I said again. I rubbed my forehead. "M-Maybe it's nothing." I struggled to change the subject, trying to lift the heavy cloud that seemed to have settled.

Luckily, he already had a topic in mind.

"So, what did you think of Eric's poetry last night?"

I couldn't help but let out a loud laugh at that. It echoed through the deserted shop.

"It was certainly…unique?" I tried. Eric was in a rock band, and lately he'd decided that it would be a grand idea to take up poetry.

He started to respond, but was cut off by the electronic chime of the door. Or maybe I just drowned him out.

All I know is that either way, I stopped listening, because the person who walked through the door was the single most gorgeous guy I'd ever seen.

He was all shadows- enough to get my attention in the first place- with straight dark hair and coal black eyes. He was dressed in all black- a black t-shirt, black jeans, black dress shoes, and a worn, stylish leather jacket. He seemed to have a smirk permanently etched onto his face. I felt inexplicably drawn to him from the moment my eyes locked onto his. For all I know, this guy could have been a murderer or a rapist, but at the moment, I really didn't care.

He strolled up to the counter, pausing his stride only to wait for Simon to get out of his way (which he did, looking oddly offended).

"Can I… can I help you?" I stammered. My words didn't seem to want to form properly.

He and Simon exchanged looks, and an odd look passed over Simon's face. He seemed…confused.

"Ah hey, Skye." He turned to me, the puzzled expression still showing. "I gotta run…um, take care of yourself?"

I nodded, still distracted by this boy's beauty. "R-Right. Bye."

He turned on his heel and hurried out, letting the door slam shut behind him.

"Is he your boyfriend?" the customer asked, his eyes grazing over the chalk menu above me.

"No!" I blurted, almost too quickly. My cheeks reddened immensely. "Um, he's my friend. Anyway, can I take your order?"

He placed his order and I absently punched in the buttons on the cash register, and then proceeded to make his drinks.

I was horribly aware of the fact that he kept his eyes on me the entire time. Because of this, I screwed up several times before bringing the finished drinks to the counter.

"Here you are."

"Thanks…Skye, was it?"

"Ah, yes. And you are?"

"The name's Damon."

Damon, a dreamy voice in my mind cooed.

I quickly snapped myself out of it. Since when did I get this way over some guy? He was only human. Talk to him.

"I haven't seen you around," I said coolly. "Are you from around here?" Not that it was any of my business. I only wanted to see if I would see him again after today.

"I'm here on business," he replied. "If you could call it that. I just said that to sound sophisticated." He winked at me.

I laughed, probably a little more than necessary. Cool it! the rational voice in my head ordered.

"Well, it works. How long are you staying for?"

He gave a slight shrug. "Depends," he said almost slyly. "On what I find here. Or who." He looked rather pointedly at me.

I felt myself blush all over again. As a distraction, I glanced at the register.

"That would be…" My voice trailed off as I realized my mistake. "$1,168. Oh."

"Expensive," he said, taking out his wallet. "It better be good coffee."

"I'm sorry." I sighed, pressing the reset button and punching in the actual price. "That should be $11.68."

"You know what? You're so pretty, I wouldn't have minded paying it." From anyone else, it would have sounded painfully corny. From him, it sounded unbelievably smooth.

My face was probably a permanent blush by this point.

He paid the money and took his tray, bidding me good-bye as he started to walk away.

"W-Wait!" I called out after him.

He paused. "Yes?"

"Um, see you around," I said dumbly. "Damon."

He looked over his shoulder at me when he reached the door. "Skye," he said with a small smile. "I certainly hope so."