This story was constantly popping in my mind so I wrote it. Tell me what you think. Review, follow and add to your favourites.
I don't own the vampire diaries
Thanks to Ahluwalia Kaur for editing this chapter.
Please review
Prologue: Cinderella has nothing on you
His head was pounding. It was worse than any hangover, and he barely had the time he needed to sober up. He was feeling the start of a really bad headache and the fresh air he sought wasn't helping at all. It was another morning after another crazy night. Being the problematic heir of a multi-billion company was hard work and standards needed to be maintained. He removed his sunglasses as soon as he stepped into his office. It was a bad idea.
The bright lights assaulted his cornea and burned his exhausted blue irises. He'd need to replace those bright LEDs with some sensual dim lighting to match his lifestyle. Technically, he needed to change everything in this age-old company 'headquarters'. It was horrid and alarming how much the furniture and style screamed his father. He'd rather burn at the cross than be associated with such a lack of style. He looked around and like a timer waiting to blow off, Enzo was there, waiting for him. What did he do now? He rolled his eyes.
"Well ?" he asked as he went through the heavy pile of newspapers cluttering his office desk. After a few minutes of perusing, he simply threw them without even looking at the headlines. There couldn't possibly be anything new in there. Clearing his desk, he slowly sat down and prepared himself for the tongue lashing he was sure to receive. There was always a lecture when he was nursing a hangover. He sighed internally.
He needed a strong cup of coffee if he was to survive today. He quickly looked for the intercom so he could ring his secretary. Enzo stared at him and the poor young man looked exasperated. Damon smirked at his expression and turned his attention to an empty spot. If he needed time before he started talking, Damon would give him a multitude of it.
It was nothing new. Actually, his whole life was a classic example of 'same old everything'. After a while when he still heard silence, he arched an eyebrow at his friend. What, he had nothing to say now? Strange behaviour for a Monday morning. But he was almost fully prepared for the onslaught of the week. All he needed was his coffee and a paracetamol to clear his current headache and the one he was going to have in approximately the next minute. His brain was still foggy from the remaining alcohol in his system and he groaned at the fact that he only had a few hours before the actual hangover. He also needed to work. Talk about multitasking.
Lorenzo kept looking at Damon as he felt at a loss for words. What could he say at that moment? He looked again at those headlines and swallowed hard. Heads were going to roll and he would probably be the first. Or maybe next to the idiot he had the misfortune of calling his friend. He grabbed the first paper out of the pile Damon had tossed aside carelessly and launched it against his chest.
"Read. And then if you can, find something better to say that 'well'." He ordered, a little too irritated. It was too early to deal with another scandal. More so, he was too old to be involved in another scandal or to clean up his friend's messes.
Scandals left and right surrounded him. One ended and another one was quick to appear. It was the routine with Damon Salvatore, heir to Salvatore Aeronautics, Salvatore Airlines and a bunch of other largely affiliated multi-dollar companies. To summarize it all, Damon Salvatore was the heir and spoiled brat in charge of tons of money. The cliché rich Casanova. Whenever a newspaper or magazine mentioned his name, a scandal needed to be cleaned up, which just so happened to be Enzo's job, cleaning after the scandalous eligible bachelor of the year, every year.
He shook his head and looked around the office, not surprised that his friend ended up in the position he was in now. Damon was an asshole, a spoiled brat and just about any other adjective for reckless would fit him perfectly, but no one could take his work ethic away from him. He knew how to manage his companies and it was only logical to reward and praise his merits. However, the people who knew him couldn't deny that Damon was his own worst enemy with his rather impressive ability to outdo himself when it came to mundane scandals. He was a stark contrast from his angelic brother Stefan but still a far cry from Stefan's 'evil' twin, Silas.
...
...
...
...
For the past four months as a public relation director, Enzo had managed to clear seven big scandals. From drunk driving to public indecency, Damon always found a way to keep his friend busy and his father close to a potential aneurysm. Nevertheless, it was always something that would only make him seem like a spoiled brat and nothing more, but today? Today he had gone further than ever before, crossed a line Enzo hadn't wanted or expected him to. He still couldn't forget the different headlines. He started contemplating an early drinking binge. This would cause loss of stack for the family business. A bad public image was often the cause of downfall for any consortium, and the Salvatore consortium was a pretty major one. With a man that put 'raunchy' to shame as the head, mind you.
Mr Steal Your Girl; Damon Salvatore took the concept to a whole another level.
Did he have them confused with each other, or was it that Damon could see double?
He believed in keeping it in the family; literally entertaining an affair with his sister in law and twin sister to his ex.
He needed to stop thinking about it; he could feel the blood vessels bursting inside his skull. Enzo could also imagine hearing the commanding voice of Giuseppe Salvatore threatening to fire him and actually doing it too. This scandal was the biggest to date and well, he had expected Damon to show more concern than he was; but he wasn't sure if he should be surprised to see the man simply staring at his iPhone while waiting for his secretary to bring in his coffee.
"Can you read it and give me a decent reason for why or how you outdid even yourself? Why do you always have to make life hard for the rest of us ?" He stared as he tried holding in his anger. He had never expected his friend to be so stupid but now it seemed that he may have underestimated the man and his ability to create chaos. This entire scandal meant more work for Enzo, who happened to manage the public image of the entire family. He would have to ensure a clean divorce for Stefan, all the while covering the scandal.
"I doubt there's anything new in it. They'll inform the world of my late-night escapades, as they have been for years now. I drink on every single occasion I get since I turned sixteen and by now I thought they'd be over it. But what did I really expect ?" Damon snorted as he threw the paper back on the table and pressed the intercom one more time. "Sweetie, if I have to wait for this coffee one more minute, you're fired."
"Last time I checked, none of the previous papers mentioned an affair between you and Elena, did they ?" Enzo adjusted himself in his chaise as he gave up on the idea that Damon would indulge him right now.
His hand shot up to grab the first piece of paper that he could and the colour drained from his already pale skin. A headache, which was already waiting around the corner, attacked him at once as he voraciously devoured the article. His heart froze, and his limbs went cold as his eyes quickly inspected the bold headline, but the picture was enough to induce a cardiac arrest. He slowly raised his head to face Enzo; wanting to confirm that the words in front of him really conveyed what he understood. He looked at the table where dozens of other newspapers and magazines lay.
"I'm screwed." The words escaped his mouth and he stared at his phone in anticipation. Which one of his family members would call him first? His dad? His niece? Or the brother who might just kill him, Stefan? What was he supposed to do now? What was he supposed to say? He could barely gather his thoughts as stress weighed him down and sabotaged his thinking process.
"I'm screwed." He repeated, disbelief straining his voice. Damon was quickly sobering up, and he reread the awful headline. He couldn't help his heart sinking straight to his feet. He looked at Enzo and the bastard had a smug expression. He threw the newspaper at him and added, "Well, we're screwed. Together, in case you forgot."
"Glad you understand." Enzo wanted to add more but Damon's phone started ringing and they both locked eyes. Here it was. The chaos had started and once again, it was because Damon Salvatore pocked it. Staring at his phone, Damon held in his sigh of relief. It wasn't Giuseppe calling him. But when Enzo's phone started ringing, he just knew that it'd be his father. The young man started sweating, confirming the caller. So much for an early work start.
It took a moment for Damon to answer his phone. Not that he was scared of the caller, because it wasn't Stefan, but he knew it wouldn't take long for that to happen too. He should start considering his options. He could run to one of his best friend's mansions; Alaric had enough houses. He could also hide in one of their vacation homes. It'd take a good time until he was found with the number of properties they had.
"I can't believe you beat me to it. I am off the hook for the worst brother and the worst son award this year." Damon rolled his eyes as his younger brother's voice pulled him out of his deliberation.
"Where is the offence, Silas? Where is the concern for your twin brother?" Exasperated and annoyed, Damon asked.
A mocking laugh answered him, and for a second, he regretted even engaging in this talk. Silas was a cynic through and through. He always seemed to take joy in anything that was baneful to his twin.
"Well if you ask, I'd say between Elena's legs because you lost it there. But since I didn't get that chance, so in our mother's womb." Silas was probably the only one more lacking tact and consideration than him.
"Anyways, I just called to say you made me proud. I knew there was a reason we were the worst of our bunch. Also, Stefan needed me to pass a message." He stopped to reply to someone else and shouted until Damon had to pull the phone away from his ear.
He hated when Silas did that. He'd just stop the conversation to yell at people in his vicinity and keep the line waiting until he was done. Egotistical jerk.
"Sorry, they brought one of those other talentless writers' books." He amended himself when he rejoined the conversation.
"You know how I hate badly written books and unoriginal plots. Talking about plots, don't you get tired of hurting baby Stefan's feelings? Like dude, give my precious doppelganger brother a break. He does not deserve this mess." He continued as he finally showed a little of that rightful concern he should have given, to begin with. Even if it was all fake. Damon rolled his eyes again.
"You did way worse Silo, way worse. You don't get to lecture me. Also, we both know Stefan isn't the victim every time." Damon lost himself in trying to defend his actions and started deviating from their earlier conversation. Truth was, the relationships between Salvatore brothers were complicated and messy at best. None of them was exempt from the blame in that.
"Doesn't count. I get a pass, being the twin brother. I'm allowed to get him in some situations and I'm forgiven but you don't get that. Now I might have to side when he comes back from wherever he disappeared?" He would have continued but Damon stopped him.
"Hold up, disappeared? Where? And when? Silo, focus! You just said Stefan disappeared!" Damon was now panicking as he looked at Enzo anxiously. Forget about the coffee; he needed the stronger effect of alcohol and the only bourbon could provide him with that.
"Oh yeah, about that. There's that message I have for you. Stefan says fuck you and you can keep her. I'm rolling my eyes here. But he was mad, except I don't get why he couldn't call you himself but there, that was the message. I can't say the other thing because it might break this lovely brotherhood bond we have." He added sarcastically and then said his goodbye before hanging up on an apathetic Damon.
"By the way, you should shut down your phone before dad gets to you. I just received an angry call. I just don't know how they all seem to forget that you do have your own number. Keep me updated though, I might just make a book out of this." He laughed.
Damon rarely listened to anyone but the situation called for it. So he did as Silas advised, and shut down his phone as he gulped down what was left of his coffee. He stood and grabbed his sunglasses; he needed out of here. The office had turned into a furnace, and he couldn't take the heat anymore. He was already at the door when Enzo got off his phone and looked at him calculatingly.
"Wait, where are you going? We have enough trouble as it is and your father told me to run it by you that you might just get disowned for this." He was surprisingly calm for having just been tongue-lashed by one Giuseppe Salvatore. However, that could be because he was used to these weekly calls by now, all thanks to Damon and Silas.
"Wherever I can find bourbon this early. You're free to join me since I'm not the one dealing with my father." Damon closed the door, not waiting around to know if Enzo would take him up on the invitation.
"When will I receive a clear answer ?" She asked exasperatedly as she grabbed her bandolier bag.
She had been waiting for the past two hours and she was getting late for her real job. She looked at her watch and cursed. She wasn't going to make it in time if she waited one more minute. She didn't want to give up just yet but she needed a solid livelihood or she'd have to go back to her parents' mansion. It was nice and all, they were pretty well off, but she couldn't and wouldn't be the failure compared to her older brother Jamie. She rushed back to the secretary. "Will he receive me or am I just wasting my time? Be frank and blunt, please." She looked hopeful, which made it hard for the poor woman in front of her.
"Truthfully, today isn't a good day. He just threw out four novelists and you're lucky to have avoided his sour mood. There are some family feud and trouble so?" The petite woman leaving the office quickly, cut the secretary off in her speech.
She hadn't cycled all the way across quite a few streets just to listen to outdated gossip which had nothing to do with her. She needed to make it to her job before it was too late. She looked at her attire and thought about the nightmare of having to cycle in a big city in a skirt and surprisingly high heels. But it would have to do.
Bonnie Bennett was an expert in manoeuvring, she did it quite often, and she could be considered a professional. So she grabbed her old and busted bicycle and secured her bag. This last date was a waste of her already precious and limited time. She was supposed to hear an answer about her novel, good or bad, but the man who ran the edition house was a scum of the earth. She had spent hours waiting for the answer that was due a week ago but she could consider herself lucky because apparently, some books didn't even make it past the first few lines after the book's title. As she looked straight ahead, she sighed and climbed onto her ride.
It was a view to behold, what with her hair flying uncontrollably and dispersing in all the directions from the warm wind that blew in from the sea. As her skirt ascended and rode up her long legs, her one hand shot down as she tried to hide her panties while the second one tried to maintain a semblance of control on the wheel but she was doing a pitiful job. She cursed at a car that abruptly passed her, and she had to forget about her decency in favour of surviving the early traffic, as she used both hands to manage her bike. Her stiletto heels kept pushing through the pedals and she feared that the only pair of shoes she'd dared to buy without her parents' assistance would break right now. But she still pushed through and slid in between different cars along the route she needed to take.
Her heart was beating its unique rhythm with the horns blazing all around her, playing perfect trumpeter to her symphony of worries. She avoided losing focus as she cycled carefully through, getting closer to her workplace in the downtown. Bonnie worked in a fancy restaurant cum bar. It was such a blend of the two that you couldn't really classify it into any one category. She was a server and usually worked at night but now that she had graduated with a masters in literature, she needed a job to occupy her day until she had her first novel published. However, that step was hard to cross and she was still struggling, but still, her pride stopped her from asking her parents for help. She made a swift turn towards the right and finally ended up only one street away from Macy's.
A car almost rolled her over then and she screamed her anger out through exhausted lungs. She took a deep breath and tried to relax. She needed a clear head before dealing with throngs of annoying customers. She'd expected her book to have been published by this time of the year but life was being difficult. Well, what was new in that? She rearranged her bag and tried to replace her shoes which suddenly decided to be loose all of a sudden when an hour ago, they were crushing her toes. She pushed the exhausted tears away as she pulled in front the building where Macy's was located and dropped her bike carelessly, rushing inside the building to make it in time for her shift.
But she had to suddenly turn around because she thought she heard someone call out to her but she saw no one there who stood out. The building was slightly crowded but it was just another day in her life. Everything was screaming normalcy and routine as she tried to juggle between removing her uncomfortable stilettos and replacing them with the soft comfort of flats. She didn't even notice when half of her stuff fell but when she did, she quickly grabbed what she could. Time was running and nothing seemed to be on her side. She'd already lost two hours hoping for her dream to come true but all she got was a spectacle of misery and a taste of her own miserable future, seeing other hopeful writers having the work of a lifetime shredded in a matter of seconds.
The words that were exchanged behind the closed door that was supposed to keep the talk hidden, had frozen her blood back then and now they were haunting her again. She took a deep breath and opened the door of the restaurant hoping she could leave some of her anxiety behind. She was so engrossed in her predicament that she completely missed the rich baritone calling after her. She had just lost one of her stilettos.
He looked at the black shoe in his hand and he didn't really know what to do with it. It had been quite a day for Damon Salvatore too.
"So what's the plan ?" Damon asked as he still held the young woman's shoe and made his way through the little crowd.
He recognized the uniform she was wearing and fortunately for her, he was going there too. His unlucky search for bourbon at such an early hour had led him here and in any other circumstance, he'd have thrown the shoe. His day was coming to be a classic example of awful and he had no intention of going on a Cinderella hunt. As he looked ahead of him, he wondered how he could escape this mess he so willingly created.
"Not losing our jobs. I don't know about you, but I like my six-figure salary." Enzo answered sarcastically but if he were to be completely honest, he had no idea where to start.
He never seemed to be immune to all the wonders that this family could cause. It was always scandal after scandal and although the job was pretty high-paying, he could do without some of a headache.
Damon looked at the man as he searched for a clever response but right now, his mind was all over the place. Never had he been more stressed, because, despite everything, he took pride in his work. He may be one of those defiant and obstinate sons but he was also exemplary in his work and it often seemed to be enough to keep Giuseppe off his back. Obviously, there were complaints and judgements about the nightlife, the sexcapades and the excessive spending, but he could survive those little storms. Right now, he was dealing with a tsunami and it might just be impossible to surf the wave unscathed this time.
"This attitude won't help Enzo, I need your A-game. I'm not losing the work of a lifetime for a moment of weakness and a picture taken at the wrong time." The elder Salvatore pressed and his friend simply stared at him, at loss for words. As Damon rose an immaculate eyebrow at the look he was receiving, all Enzo could really think was that he had no idea when sense and reason had finally abandoned his friend.
"I'll have that once I get a much-needed drink and get a hold of your MIA brother, and your father stops threatening me every five seconds. So if you could just do me a favour and deal with this mess that you put yourself and your entire family in for a few hours, I'll be very grateful." Enzo's sarcasm wasn't missed as they both pushed through the restaurant door and Enzo started looking for a table.
But when Damon suddenly started heading in a specific direction, Enzo couldn't help but wonder what came next as he followed the young man with his eyes.
He noticed her as soon as he stepped in and although he'd only seen her profile and back when he'd called after her, she was hard to miss. The woman stood out with her long mahogany hair, luminous caramel skin, and vivid green eyes. As he saw her sashaying through the minimal crowd of patrons, he found it hard to believe that she was the ball of stress that he saw minutes ago. He had shouted and called for her but she had been so absorbed in her head, she hadn't even heard him. He looked at her until he was sure there was a good opportunity to give her back the shoe that he constantly held.
She passed him several times, never once glancing in his direction and for few seconds, Damon was offended. Women always noticed him, it was almost a law that she was blatantly breaking by moving around him so easily. As he looked at her, he considered that with her physical appearance, she would usually be the centre of attention because she was gorgeous, so that could be what made it easy for her to ignore him. At least that was what he wanted to think. He stared in silence as he still held that shoe, looking exaggeratedly out of place in his tailored coat-suit.
Enzo eagerly observed the scene in front of him and followed every move Damon's interested blue irises made. What could be better than a scandal? Another planned and controlled scandal. He smiled a Cheshire-cat smile as the answer dawned on him. Right now, the room was buzzing with chemistry and as a specialist in public image maintenance, he could see it in full galore. There was a story to sell, a small well-fabricated story that would take away all the attention from the eldest Salvatore's greatest scandal yet. He waited until she noticed Damon and couldn't help but observe the entire scene with a giddy smile. He could come to something epic with this but first, he needed to gather the thoughts and ideas that were swirling around in his head.
'Might just keep our jobs' he thought as he pulled out his phone and waited to record the great moment he would use.
He knew that that great moment would come as soon as time froze around the little pair and he forced a narrative. The machinery inside Enzo was linking faster than ever before and he was knitting an entire story around the chemistry that he saw through the quick exchange of a look between them. She had finally noticed him.
...
...
...
...
"Are you pulling a Cinderella trick on me now? Honestly, I've seen it all before, but I'm in no mood for another creep today." Bonnie exclaimed with an exasperated snort.
She'd noticed how keenly he observed her from where he was standing, and how could she not, when she'd done some checking out of her own. He was a fine piece. However, having patrons trying to hit on her was a quotidian plague of her daily life but today? Today she was in no mood for it. She just wanted to be done with him, no matter how much of an eye-candy he was.
"Do I look like someone who'd hit on a waitress ?" Damon answered, annoyed. He was having a bad day too and he wasn't going to stand here and take up disrespect he'd never had to deal with before. "Any other situation in which I'd find myself asking you for anything would be to get me two glasses of your finest bourbon." He completed, now looking at Bonnie haughtily.
"You better pick up another waiter then, because I don't serve rude assholes." The petite woman knew she needed to watch her mouth with a patron but this one unnerved her for some reason and he'd caught her in a day where she'd already been pushed to the edge. She could deal with another speech from her father about responsibility or even her mother advising her to marry someone in their social circles to propel her career. She could lose this job for all it was worth but no one would talk to her like she couldn't afford the next channel. No one would talk to her like she was lesser of a human.
"That's actually your shoe. You dropped it outside and I thought I'd return it. But I don't expect you to have enough manners to thank me." He said as he shoved the shoe in her hands and walked away quickly; not even letting Bonnie fully process his words, let alone form a decent answer. The woman was annoying, arrogant and nothing he wanted to deal with today. He reached his table to find Enzo smiling like a giddy schoolboy. He looked around to see if they'd served some type of alcohol in his absence because he really needed some booze in his system before he had to deal with all the mess his life was. His situation wasn't helping and he could've done without that interaction with the puerile waitress. He should have thrown the godforsaken shoe. He looked back to see if she'd moved from the spot he left her standing in and indeed, she was moving around again like he never even entered her life.
"I see you find humour in this situation," Damon stated bitterly as he took a seat opposite Enzo. This entire day couldn't have been any more dreadful and disturbing. He looked back at the second person that added more awfulness to his day and saw her smiling at a little group of patrons.
'Couldn't even bother to be polite with me.' He thought bitterly as he returned his attention to Enzo who was observing him pretty closely. He hadn't missed who Damon was looking at all this time.
"I've been finding a solution." He answered, leaning his elbows on the table as he slid his phone over to Damon. His smile widened when Damon's curious gaze settled on the bright screen and the picture he just took. Next, he revealed a soundless video of him and Bonnie. They looked passionate but other than that, nothing stood out to Damon. It was simply a replay of what he'd just witnessed firsthand. He really didn't see where his friend was going with this. So as Enzo drank from the tumbler of bourbon the waiter finally served them with, his wait for Damon's reaction simply earned cricket's chirping.
"What am I missing ?" Damon asked after pulling a blank several times. It was just a picture of him shoving the shoe in that waitress' hands, except that in the angle this specific shot was taken, it didn't look like he was. It was like he was gently offering the shoe he'd retrieved.
"The solution is right there. You both are my solution. Look at the picture; Cinderella got nothing on you two. People love a good fairytale." He clapped his hands like a kid and grinned widely. Damon looked at his friend consternated as he tried to process the despair that he could sense coming his way if Enzo's look was any indication.
Still, all he could do was shrug his frustrations. "She's rude. And I'm pretty sure I don't want to deal with her sassy attitude ever again." Damon countered. "What fairytale do you see here ?" He continued, looking at Bonnie as she weaved around the crowd of people, wondering if he was desperate enough in his problems to trust Enzo with his crazy idea.
PLEASE, REVIEW
