a/n: So I realize this story might be better suited for Halloween, but I got so into it that I couldn't wait that long. For the house, I imagine it to be like the one on the site of the witch masacare, but a bit smaller.

I don't know what it is, but my creativity is flowing again so I'm going to use it to my advantage :) Enjoy!

p.s. I should also mention this is AU/AH-ish...I will be playing with the character's relationships and rearranging them.

ONE

As Damon entered the local bar, a sense of familiarity walked over him. He could be there every night and each time he entered the doors it felt more like home than his actual home did. Everyone that worked there knew him by name and knew exactly which drink to keep coming his way all night long. It made sense to come back night after night. Especially when his friends felt the same way about the place. As he thought of them, he heard their shouts at the TV from across the room and walked over to where they were.

"What took you so long, Damon?" Klaus asked with a sparkle of mischief in his eyes.

"I had some errands to run, nothing special," he answered, nodding at the waitress as she brought him his drink.

"And does this errand have a name?" Mason teased with a glimmer in his eyes similar to the one in Klaus's.

Damon rolled his eyes, but smiled at them as he took a drink. "I don't know why you two are stuck on the idea that I'm seeing someone without telling you, but I'm not. Then again, if you two had your own love life, I guess you wouldn't be interested in mine."

"Hey now, I do happen to have a love life," Klaus said defensively.

"Since when?" Mason asked with an arched brow.

Klaus smirked at his friends and tipped his beer in their direction. "A gentleman does not kiss and tell."

"That's code for he's not getting any," Damon explained and tossed back the rest of his drink.

"Wouldn't you like to know," he deadpanned with a sly smile.

Mason and Damon exchanged a glance and then laughed, ending that particular conversation. From then they talked about the usual; sports games, the things they had seen throughout the day, and of course, sizing up the women of the crowd as the night wore on. All the while the drinks kept coming in a continuous stream. It wasn't until much later that Damon found himself making a wager; a wager that he still hadn't fully understood. It had something to do with picking up women and the last one to get a girl to agree to come home had to spend the night in the haunted house by themselves.

It wasn't until Damon found himself looking up at said haunted house that he realized he lost. There had been so many drinks he could barely remember his own name let alone if he had even tried to hit on anyone. It took him a moment before he could get to his feet. He patted his pockets and swore when he discovered his cell phone had gone missing. His friends were going to get an earful in the morning. Just as he decided it would do him good to walk home, it began to rain. While it was only just water, Damon was not about to let it ruin his leather jacket, so inside the house he went.

As the rotting door creaked open when he turned the knob, he started debating if it wouldn't be better to just leave his jacket here and come back to get it in the morning. At that thought, he shook his head and laughed at himself. There was no way this house was haunted. It was just a legend; something the kids told one another to scare the younger ones. He could handle one night and prove everyone wrong. Then again, there was a legend about the town having a problem with witches and other creatures of the supernatural sort once upon a time.

With a deep breath, he stepped all the way inside the foyer and let the door shut behind him, all the while telling himself that the house wasn't haunted. Staring at the remnants of the house made him realize how little he actually knew about it. He and his friends had spent their entire lives in Mystic Falls, Virginia, but all they knew about this place was that it was supposedly haunted. He didn't even know why people believed that legend. He wondered what horrible event could have happened here to earn the abandoned property such a reputation. That thought alone made him shudder.

He could hear the rain outside and from the sound of it, it was going to be a full on storm that would most likely last until morning. Knowing that he was going to be there for awhile didn't sit well with him, especially when there wasn't much light due to the storm blocking out the moon. He patted his pockets again, only this time doing the same to his jacket and sighed with relief as he found his phone. "Figures," he muttered at seeing the no service sign on his screen. At least he could use it as a flashlight as he explored what he could of the house. Good thing he had charged his phone prior to meeting the guys at Mystic Grill.

He explored the foyer and front living room first. It was pretty much what he expected to find. Pictures knocked off the wall, broken knick-knacks on the floor, and layers upon layers of dust. There were cracks in the walls and both the wallpaper and paint were peeling off. The wooden floor had rotted away in places and there were definitely traces of animal life all around. Between the two, Damon had to be careful where he stepped.

As he made his way into the kitchen, his eyes were adjusted to the dim lighting and he could see things a bit more clearly. It also helped that the windows were gone and what little of the moonlight could be see illuminated the room. Damon was stunned to see how well preserved it still was. Then again, it wasn't that surprising. If everyone thought the place was haunted, they surely weren't going to ransack it. It was that thought that sent the first wave of shivers down his spine.

Damon moved slowly around the kitchen, intrigued by the vintage appliances. This house was definitely as old as the town if not a little older. It amazed him to no end that they were in the shape that they were in. There was even a small wooden dining set in the center and it was almost as if he could see the family sitting at their table ready to enjoy their meal. A frown formed on his face when he noticed that one of the four chairs had been tipped over and when he bent down he saw that it had been broken with one of the legs cast off to the side.

He did a double take as he noticed some discoloration on the floor near the chair and he went to investigate. As he bent down to get a better look, a feeling of nausea went through him as he realized it was a pile of blood. He quickly stood up and backed out of the kitchen, bumping into something on the way out. As he stepped into the living room again, he felt a gust of wind behind him and whirled around to see what it was from. Whatever it was, it was definitely not from the storm outside. He didn't know how he knew, but he knew. He raised his phone and peered into the darkness, but saw nothing.

His heart nearly leapt into his throat as he heard the noise of a rocking chair. Slowly, he turned around to see the chair in the living room slowly moving back and forth. He shut his eyes and shook his head. "It was just the wind. This place is not haunted. Pull yourself together," he repeated over and over again until his heart returned to a normal rate. Even as he felt himself calm down, there was a part of him that knew something was up.

Damon turned away from the chair and explored the other side of the house where he found the stairs. He inspected them as best he could and knew there was a risk they would crumble under his weight, but his curiosity was too big to ignore, so up he went. Each step creaked as he moved and the banister wobbled when he tried to use it to steady himself. When he reached the landing, he used his phone to see if there were any holes in the floor. As the coast seemed clear, he began walking forward to explore what lie beyond each door on the upper floor.

There was something about the last door on the right at the end of the hall that was calling out to him so he made his way to it, being cautious with each and every step. Another set of chills ran down his spine as he got to the door when it opened on its own. He let his eyes dart around before he stepped across the threshold. He could tell instantly that it was a girl's room from the feminine decor and the ornate bed that was centered in the room. What drew him further into the room was the fact that the french doors leading onto a small balcony were wide open, letting water seep onto the already rotting floor.

Damon carefully moved over to them and pulled them shut. The house was in bad enough shape as it was, he didn't need anything coming in here while he was using it for shelter. There was a streak of lightening that lit up the sky and allowed him to see his reflection in what was left of the glass pane. Only, it was just his face he saw staring back at him.

He jumped back and whirled around only to see something wisp by him in the darkness. It was the same sensation he had encountered in the kitchen and it was definitely not the wind. "H-hello?" Damon called out, instantly feeling silly for believing the tricks his mind was playing on him. The house was not haunted, there was no one else here. Although this time, the more he kept telling himself that, the less he believed it.

Damon took a few steps forward, extending his arm into the darkness so that he could shine the light of his phone further into the room. Unlike this time, repeating those words didn't make him calm. There was something in the room with him; he just knew it. His breathing was shallow and ragged and his heart was pounding in his chest. The hairs on the back of his neck were standing straight up and chills were erupting all over his body. This was one of the few times in his life that he was actually frightened.

He felt the air behind him stir and whirled around again. Unfortunately what he saw didn't help matters at all. There, right before his eyes, was a ghost of a young girl. She was staring at him with curiosity in her luminescent eyes, her body floating a little off the ground, the light behind her making her fade in and out of sight. She was there; he could see her and she could clearly see him, but his fear only held him rooted for a brief second.

He only saw her for that length of time before he turned around and ran. He skipped steps on his way down, not caring if the floor gave way beneath him. He didn't care about the rain ruining his jacket; he could always buy a new one. In the meantime, all he did was run. He was amazed that he didn't scream. Or even if he had, he didn't remember doing so. All that mattered now was that he had to get away as fast as he could because he could safely say that the house was truly haunted after all.