Disclaimer: No, The Vampire Diaries isn't mine. No, I'm not L.. Do I wish I was? Yes. But I'm not.

Chapter 2 - Damon

The next day I woke up with sun shining on my skin and a face hovering above me. I cracked my eyes open unwillingly but smiled slightly when I saw who it was. Even though the day before I hadn't been in the mood to talk to her, now I wanted to know all about what had happened on her first day in her new house. She seemed eager to have a talk too, though I could see something else on her delicate features. Anxiety or hurry, something like that. I sat up on the bed, smiling at Katherine. I had fallen asleep without even covering myself, though for me it didn't make much of a difference, as I couldn't feel cold or hot. The other girl sat on my bed, pulling her knees up and grinning.

- What's up, Katherine? – I asked, curious and apprehensive at the same time.

- I'm going to have one hell of a day today! – She exclaimed, smiling so much it surprised me that her lips didn't tear apart.

- Are you planning on getting the boy? Stefan, is it? – I questioned, getting up from my bed and making my way to the bathroom the Salvatores had had installed for us.

- Yep. Have you found anyone interesting yet? – Katherine rolled over so that she was still facing me.

- No, though I did encounter a very good horse. Fulmineo. – I told her, distractedly.

I was hunting for some nice clothes. I was planning on getting to know some of the Salvatores. As they were our hosts, it was only polite that we spend some time with them. I knew I could count on Katherine to keep the youngest in check, but someone had to talk to the older ones. When I returned to my room, Katherine was gone. I could only hope she wasn't planning on stealing my new horse.

Giving up on my search, I put on the first dress I saw and sprinted out the door. By the position of the sun, I guessed it was somewhere around eight o'clock, so I ran to the main building, hoping the Salvatores hadn't gone out to do whatever they used to do in the mornings.

Upon reaching the back door I heard something. Shouting. Someone was having one hell of an argument in there. My curious side told me to listen in, but my other side was shouting at me that it was none of my business. Of course, my curious side won and I tuned my ears to the shouting occurring in the next room, which I gathered was the kitchen.

- You can't just run around doing whatever you see fit! You will go back right now and play your part in the world. – Giuseppe, I imagined. If he was Stefan's father, than the one he was shouting at should be Stefan.

- The army isn't my part in the world! Why can't you just accept that? – It wasn't Stefan. It was someone older, more rebellious.

I was tempted to enter the kitchen, though I didn't think I should interfere. But if this boy, Stefan's brother, was a deserter, then he was in deep trouble. He could be court-martialed, if not worse. Since I took his father to be a rather harsh and impulsive man, I decided to intervene before he sent a formal letter to the army.

I knocked on the door and, as I received no answer, I opened it. A dark haired boy was standing next to the door, his eyes filled with fury and disappointment, a look that was also drawn on his father's face. I could tell that they were more like each other than they were willing to admit.

- Am I interrupting? – I asked, sheer innocence leaking from my voice. Honestly, it disgusted me to talk in that tone.

- No, you aren't. – Giuseppe replied, though he sent his son a look that clearly said "we are not done here" – Please, have a seat. What did you want?

- Oh, I just wanted to get to know you. You were very kind to offer my sister and me a home. – My voice sounded sweeter than honey and my whole body language screamed "frail little sad girl". I hoped I wouldn't have to keep that up for too long.

- I'm very sorry, but I'm late for a business meeting. Perhaps we could talk tonight? – And with those words, Giuseppe left the kitchen.

I was rather glad that he had another appointment. I didn't like the way I had to be around him and I was much more interested in getting to know his other son, whose name I didn't know. He still looked upset, but his anger was fading away as he analyzed me. I was still sitting in the chair the boy's father had pulled for me, my legs crossed and my hands resting on my lap. But my whole posture had changed. I was acting like myself, not pretending to be a young girl who just lost her parents and is still getting over having everything she knew destroyed.

The boy pulled a chair and sat right in front of me, though the other way around. He looked into my eyes with a penetrating glare, as if he was trying to see into my brain. I glared back, only my glare was kind of teasing, as if ridiculing him. He smiled just slightly and got up, offering his hand for me to help myself up. I grinned and shook my head, getting up as well. I was sure I had found who Katherine had labeled as "someone interesting". I just had to find out his name.

- Damon. – He said, smiling in a very charming way. It took me a few seconds to understand what he meant.

- Julia. Julia Pierce. – I told him, my lips curving up in a genuine smile. Yes, I had found my "someone interesting", no doubt about it.

He offered me his hand again and this time I accepted. His fingers wrapped around my hand, caressing it while at the same time keeping a firm grip. He led me outside through the back door and then all the way to the very edge of the Veritas. During our walk I noticed some things I had failed to take in the other day. First of all, over half of the propriety wasn't inhabited, being used mostly for plantation, which made it a perfect place to hunt. But more importantly, I realized that if the horses knew their way around the Estate, than so did they owners, and Damon was clearly one of them, as he moved around the labyrinth of paths as if it was just a corridor. Though I didn't quite understand why, I felt happy. Maybe it was just the excitement of starting to picture my stay in the Veritas, but somehow I didn't think that was it.

We stopped just at the edge of the land, where a fence blocked the animals that lived in the slopes from entering and the several domestic animals from running away. There was a small patio built in a poorly paved area. It looked like it had been abandoned a long time ago, perhaps before the Salvatores even bought the Estate. The benches and tables were worn out and termite-eaten and the grass had long taken over the earthy path, but somehow the place had a charm I hadn't seen anywhere in Veritas.

Damon sat on one of the frail benches and called me over, laughing as I tested my seat's integrity before sitting. He pushed the ground with his feet lightly, making the hinges that held the bench up creak and the bench itself rock back and forward in a very soothing manner.

- Thanks for saving me back there. – Damon commented, not looking me in the eye.

- Sure thing. – I laughed, thinking about how embarrassed he should have been, saved by a girl right in front of his father's eyes – So you're a deserter? The military could have your neck for that one.

- I didn't like the army. It just isn't what I want to do with my life. – He told me.

I took a good look at him, especially at his bright blue eyes, and I could tell that the army really wasn't for him. He didn't strike me as a patriot or as the kind of person who will do everything to be a hero just so later, long after their deaths, someone would still know their names. The army wasn't the place for someone like him, even though his father thought it was. I smiled as I remembered Damon asking his father why he couldn't just accept that the army wasn't the part he should play in the world and one single answer came to my mind: "Nothing, it's just that when people think they make revolutionary things and other people fear change".

- Your father wasn't too happy about it. – I said, chuckling.

- I didn't expect him to be. He's a traditionalist, so he thinks that the goal of every man should be to defend their parties. – Damon sighed, lowering his eyes.

- I think you did well. You shouldn't follow a path that may define your whole life unless you want to. I know that the opinion of a girl you just met doesn't count a lot, but I just thought you should know. – I smiled, allowing it to show him the how truthful I was.

- It does count. More than my father's, anyway. – He said, smiling back at me.

We stayed in silence for some time, but that silence wasn't awkward like most, it was a comfortable pause in the conversation and it said more than a thousand words ever could. I was starting to enjoy my visit to Mystic Falls, which I had initially thought of as a mistake. Now, I was glad that I had taken Katherine up on her offer. She got Stefan, the younger and sweeter brother, and I got Damon, the rebel who deserted the army. It was a perfect arrangement.

I looked around the abandoned patio, wondering who had built it. I thought there hadn't been any civilization in this area before the Veritas Estate. And even if there was, why wouldn't Giuseppe use the patio instead of abandoning it? I couldn't figure it out but at the time it really didn't matter. I was content with just sitting in that bench, rocking back and forward, with Damon. When I first arrived here, it hadn't even crossed my mind that I might find romance in this small countryside city. I smiled at myself, thinking about how I could still be so stupid even after so many millenniums. I glanced at Damon and found him staring at the landscape, his eyes unfocused and a smirk on his lips.

- What's up? – I asked him.

- I was just thinking about the look that will be on my father's face when he finds out what I did today. – He informed me, with a mischievous smile. But I could hear the small sigh masqueraded in the end.

- Not nice, I guess? – I questioned, though I really didn't want to know.

- Not at all. – He answered. I just hoped he'd be okay. – But let's not worry about this now. Are you up for a ride? I mean, you do know how to ride a horse, right?

- I've never been more ready. – I grinned, more excited than I had been a few seconds ago.

We jumped up and raced to the stables, playing tag along the way. The wind rushed past me, carrying with it Damon's laughter. I was happier than I had been in quite a long time. As I ran and played with the older Salvatore brother, I wondered where Katherine was. She should have been with Stefan, but I hadn't seen him since the day before. But then I would hear Damon calling me and it wouldn't matter so much anymore. Just for that day, the world was ours to do as we pleased.

Finally arriving at the stables, I took Fulmineo out of his bay, caressing the horse's soft mane. Damon smiled as he watched my affection for the animal, turning away the second he saw I had noticed. It was my turn to smile, shaking my head slightly. Sometimes I just couldn't understand boys, with their one-worded conversations and unnecessary awkwardness. Damon helped his horse out of his bay and mounted it, tapping its neck lightly. I had to admire his taste. The horse was of a beautiful dark brown shade with a couple of white markings all around its body and it was probably one of the most majestic animals I had ever seen. "Its owner isn't too far behind" I thought, smiling.

We walked alongside, eventually chasing each other playfully. Every once in a while I would glance at the sky to see the sun getting closer to setting, its light becoming more orange by the minute. I knew that I couldn't keep Damon outside after sundown, not with all the things that happened in this town. Though I should be able to protect him, I didn't want to take any chances. After all, I would see him the next day.

Damon led me to the forest, running in as if daring me to follow. I laughed and trotted in after him, catching up with no problems. I could feel Fulmineo's apprehension, his desire to leave the forest. He hadn't been like that the day before, but I gathered it was just because it was getting dark, so I passed my hand through his mane, trying to calm him. I didn't realize that Damon had gone out of my view until I heard him calling after me, his voice tainted with a bit of worry. I smiled and rushed after him, wondering whether it would be better for us to just go home. But my adventurous spirit won over my worry for Damon's safety and I continued to follow the track deeper into the forest.

We finally arrived at a clearing, where I found out the reason for Fulmineo's fear. Lying in the middle of the grass, a deer, already dead, bled the last few drops of blood still in his body. I knew what had happened, but I had to keep it a secret for at least a couple of hours more. I had to be sure Damon wouldn't tell anyone. I climbed out of my horse and walked over to the deer, sighing. Katherine had to be more discrete if she wanted our presence here to pass unnoticed. Well, at least I knew what she had been doing while Stefan was out.

- Animal mauling? I didn't know we had predators in big enough to kill a deer in the forest. – Damon commented, eyeing the deer with innocent suspicion.

- It seems like you do. Come on, we should get out of here. It's getting dark and with this thing in the forest we better be careful. – I told him, worried that it may not have been Katherine that did that. I needed to check with her.

Damon nodded and climbed back on his horse, leading the way to out of the forest. I couldn't concentrate on one single thing. My mind was a mess of worry, suspicion and apprehension, making it hard for me to sort it all out. My eyes wondered from one side of the forest to the other, straining to see anything out of the usual. I was afraid for the safety of everyone in the Estate. Katherine wouldn't harm them unless they lost their appeal, but I wasn't sure she had been the one who killed the deer. The way it was just thrown in the clearing made it seem more like a warning than a disposal. I could only hope Katherine had been careless, nothing more.