Thank you all for the favorites/follows/reviews! We hope you're enjoying the story! Posting this chapter a day early because I'll be super busy tomorrow :)
Chapter 2
"When did life become so crazy?" Morgan huffed, throwing herself back onto the bed.
"1967, I believe," Damon smirked before catching the pillow that Morgan whipped at his head.
Kicking off her shoes, Morgan snuggled deeper into the blankets. "I'm serious. This Mystic Falls is crazy! I thought we were just coming to do our normal annoy Stefan routine, not get caught up in town craziness. I mean a blonde cheerleader, really? C'mon, Damon, that's such a cliché."
"What can I say?" Damon smirked. "I bring the good times wherever I go."
"More like trouble," Morgan mumbled as she rolled her eyes. "You didn't compel the preppy kid, right?"
Damon pulled his shirt over his head and tossed it in the direction of the hamper, missing it by several feet. "What do you care?"
"He seems sweet and it would be nice to have a friend in this town while I'm here," Morgan shrugged.
Damon was hovering over her in the time it took her to blink. His hand kept her wrists pinned to the mattress. She gasped at the sudden intrusion of her personal space; even after all of these years it still startled her when he did that. "You have me."
Morgan smirked as he used his free hand to trace the outline of her face, "You trying to listen in on my secrets, Mr. Salvatore?"
"You don't have secrets."
"That's what you think."
Damon made a face that caused Morgan to laugh aloud before his lips moved to the side of her neck. His fingers began to undo the bracelet around her wrist before he kissed her mouth. Morgan drank him in while moaning as he brought her wrist to his mouth and broke the skin; allowing her blood to enter his system.
The act gave Morgan a sort of high; always finding herself to become slightly disappointed when Damon had taken his fill. Once he had finished and bandaged her wrist, he kissed her forehead and lay down beside her. He had offered her his own blood on multiple occasions before but she always refused, not wanting to risk it. The loss of blood always made her weak. Her eyes fluttered as she curled into him, falling asleep the second his arms wrapped around her.
X-X-X
The town was quiet, as though the storm had locked them indoors. Morgan wandered the wet streets, enjoying the heavy smell that hung in the air. The light breeze brought a chill with it, making her shudder, but nothing that would cause her to find shelter. Her footsteps barely made any noise, and she drank in the silence. One door banged shut, echoing through the trees, making Morgan think that someone was closing up shop in town.
Coming to the main strip, she saw Matt carrying a large bag of trash towards a dumpster. "Isn't it past your bedtime, Preppy?"
Matt smiled as she neared, "You're the senior, shouldn't you be checking in with your nurses? They might put out an alert for you.
Morgan laughed before tucking some hair behind her ear. "What are you doing at work? Don't you know you're supposed to go home when it rains?"
"Says the girl wandering the streets alone like a freak."
"It's called taking a walk."
Matt rolled his eyes, "You need a ride? I got to head home for homework."
"Nah, I'll be okay," Morgan smiled. He reminded her of someone she used to know before the horrors of the world had taken him away from her.
Matt nodded, "Be careful, okay?"
"Never," she winked.
Chuckling, Matt waved before heading off toward his truck. Morgan waved good-bye with a smile as he drove off. The moment her hand dropped a force moved her into the wall of the building, slamming her back against the brick.
"You shouldn't be out her all alone. It's dangerous."
"Please," Morgan smirked, rolling her eyes. "You're the only dangerous thing out here. And lucky for me, you're under my spell."
Damon's eyes narrowed, "Spell? What spell?"
"My spell of awesomeness," she grinned.
It was Damon's turn to roll his eyes, "Please, I'm the only awesome thing in this town. You are just my lovely sidekick."
Morgan moved just enough so the rough brick was no longer scratching at the little bit of bare skin that her shirt didn't cover. "Lovely, huh? Remember that next time you need blood or sex."
"Vampire. I can make people give both of those things to me."
"Yeah, but I'm the only one who volunteers to do so….without compulsion."
Damon watched her. "You act like no one else would willingly be with me."
Morgan shook her head, noticing even the slightest pang of hurt in his eyes that he would never admit. "Not at all. But I know you'd rather compel them because then it hurts me less." Damon smirked, the self-doubt leaving his mind as she continued. "Plus, if you compel them, then I don't burn someone's face off for liking you."
Rolling his eyes, he released his hold on her. As she was about to speak, someone cleared their throat from behind him.
"I don't know what's worse. That you're compelling an underage girl or that you're doing it in public." Sheriff Forbes announced, eyeing them both.
"What public?" Damon questioned at the same moment Morgan chirped, "You think I'm underage?"
"Damon, I need to talk to you." She stated. Tipping her head, she nodded to Morgan. "Why don't you head home, Morgan."
"I live with him," she stated.
The sheriff's eyes darted back and forth between the two of them in front of her. "You compelled her to stay with you?"
"I've never compelled that girl in her life. She actually likes me," Damon bit, the anger flashing in his eyes though he knew he shouldn't be surprised; everyone had always expected the worst from him and that wasn't going to change any time soon.
Sheriff Forbes moved her eyes back to Morgan as if asking what he said was true.
"I know. He's as shocked as you are."
X-X-X
Damon was off at the last minute council meeting leaving Morgan alone with Stefan whom she had been trying to avoid. She was about to go out for a walk around the grounds when he stopped her. "Hey, Morgan, can I ask you something?"
"You just did," she smiled sarcastically, pulling her jean jacket on. "Heading out for a bit. I'll be back before Damon gets back."
Stefan followed her down the hall, "You've dedicated the last forty something years to being Damon's shadow. What kind of life is that?"
Morgan knew the questions were going to come the minute she was alone with Stefan for more than a few minutes. "It's the kind of life I've chosen. I don't regret a minute of it."
"How?"
"Damon is my best friend. No one ever has or ever will be more to me than he is right now. He protects me. Takes care of me. He doesn't use me as a puppet…no matter what you think. He's never compelled me. He's my rock, my person, my soul… Damon's home for me." She knew she was rambling but Stefan just stood there and listened, purely curious at her answers.
"And what about the other women?"
"Six out of seven nights there are no other women. I'm in that bed. He drinks their blood. Then comes back to me."
"And it doesn't bother you that he uses people like that?" Stefan shook his head, "you are a good person, Morgan. I don't understand the hold he has over you."
"You're one of those people that would make your dog go vegan, aren't you?" Morgan questioned, eyeing him with a sigh. "No different from you eating a bunny except his victims still get to live."
"How can you be so sure?"
Morgan removed the bracelet from her wrist, showing Stefan the scars that she kept hidden beneath it. "Because I am one of them. It's been years and never once has he gone too far or not been able to stop. I told you, Stefan, I trust him. And you should too."
She had been enjoying the calm of the night, taking in the little droplets of water on each leaf. The rumble of the Camaro hit her ears and she decided to make her way back towards the house as she got closer though she heard Stefan and Damon fighting once again. She debated for a moment if she should just wait a bit longer and let them figure it out but when she heard her name she couldn't help herself and walked in the front door.
"You can't feed off her!" Stefan shouted to his brother. "It's wrong and you know it."
"Since when do you care about what happens to Morgan?" Damon snarled, having been attacked with distain the moment he walked through the door.
Stefan rounded the couch to face his brother. "She means something to you, Damon. What happens when you can't stop yourself?"
"I always stop myself-"
"And what if you can't!" Stefan cut him off.
"Then she dies!" Damon shouted into his brother's face. His expression fell as he noticed her over Stefan's shoulder. He hadn't heard her come back inside; her eyes were wide with pain and fear as she looked at him. "Morgan," he called, pushing past his brother to follow her. When he reached the door, a barrier held him place, like an invisible wall. Fighting against the spell, Damon yelled for her once more, as she drove away in his Camaro.
X-X-X
Bringing her knuckles up, she rasped on the door three times and waited patiently. She hoped she had the right house but she couldn't be completely sure. She was only going by the truck that sat in the driveway. Moments later the door opened and Matt greeted her, moving so that she could enter the house.
"Is that Damon's car?"
Morgan chewed her lip and sighed. She had decided to go to Matt's because her options in the small town were limited. She set the six-pack on the table with a smile. "Yeah but he's sort of…held up for the moment. So I figured maybe I could hang out here for a bit. If you're free that is. Don't jocks usually have plans or something?"
"Don't witches usually have better people to hangout with than high-schoolers?"
Morgan grabbed a beer and popped the top as she made her way into his living room, toeing out of her shoes as she went. "Usually," she shrugged, clicking the television on and flipping through a few of the minimal channels. "You're mom isn't going to come home and like freak because a chick is on your couch, right? Because I've had enough drama for the night."
Matt took a beer for himself, sitting on the opposite end of the couch. "No, she's not around much. She's in Virginia Beach with her boyfriend."
"Sorry," Morgan muttered, feeling guilty for bringing up an obviously touchy subject. She moved so that her feet now rested in Matt's lap, completely ignoring the annoyed expression on his face. The news station reported yet another animal attack and she flipped to the next channel leaving it on some action movie she assumed Matt would be interested in.
During a commercial break, Matt rested his hand on top of her sock clad feet. "Are we going to talk about what happened tonight?"
"The beer?" Morgan questioned in feigned innocence. "You're under age. I figured you'd appreciate the hook up."
"Morgan," he sighed.
"Preppy," she sighed back with an eye roll, pulling her legs underneath her she got resituated on the couch so that she could face him.
He turned the volume down on the television, settling in for the story. The night replayed in her mind but those three little words rang out as clear as day. Then she dies! Morgan tried to convince herself that he had just gotten himself caught up in the moment, that he didn't want Stefan telling him what to do but she swore she could hear even the slightest of sincerity in his voice.
She focused back on the presence and noticed Matt waiting patiently for her to start and she couldn't help but smile. He had such a pure heart and she knew fate had placed him in the wrong town.
"Instead of boring you with my night…why don't you tell me something about your day? What's the trick they use to get those curly fries so perfect?"
The two chatted about everything and nothing until the early morning hours when Morgan had dozed off on the couch. Matt covered her with a blanket, watching her sleep for a moment and wondering what a guy like Damon ever deserved to have someone like Morgan love him.
Morgan woke the next morning to what sounded like more arguing and she sighed, keeping her eyes closed for a moment longer because all of this fighting was getting a little too much for her liking.
"What is she doing here?"
"Keep your voice down, Care." Matt tried to hush the persistent blonde. "You're going to wake her up."
Morgan watched the interaction but hadn't moved yet, allowing the two to think she was still asleep. The blonde groaned, "So? She's Damon's…whatever she is. She can't be good news if she is associated with him."
"Don't you think you might want to get to know me before you judge me?" Morgan finally spoke up, causing the blonde to whip her head in the direction of the living room.
Matt took a sip of his coffee, allowing the two girls to figure out their own drama. Caroline crossed her arms over her chest, "Do you even know what he did to me?"
"I can probably guess," Morgan replied as she slid into her shoes she had kicked off the night before. "But I didn't do anything to you. I came here last night because Matt is a friend. I'm not looking for any high school drama." Caroline opened her mouth to say something but stopped short when Morgan put her hand up, Damon's keys dangling from her fingers. "Clearly I slept too long to go to breakfast but if you want you can come to lunch with me and you can get to know me before you decide I'm Satan's spawn. And if not, that's fine too, but I won't stand for hatred without a reason."
X-X-X
To say that lunch was awkward was an understatement. They were both well into their meals before they even started to talk, agreeing to each ask a question which had to be answered before the other person could ask the next. Morgan was just as curious about the blonde cheerleader that Damon had been interested in. She definitely wasn't his type, or at least not the kind of girl Morgan had usually seen him with, and she was starting to realize that the poor girl was just a pawn in whatever he had started before Morgan had gotten to town.
After talking for hours, Morgan realized Caroline was kind of sweet. While she was definitely eccentric she had a good heart and she started to realize maybe she could have more than one friend in this small town. She even opened up to Caroline about Jack, her high school sweetheart. She left out huge chunks of the story not ready to test the new friendship with such realizations and harsh truths but explained how she loved him and shared a few memories from back home with him.
Caroline scrunched her face in confusion, "But I don't get it. You sound like you were happy with Jack. Why would you come to Mystic Falls just because Damon called?"
"It's a long story," Morgan brushed off the question but when she looked up she saw Damon had heard their whole conversation and she could swear she saw a flash of jealousy in his eyes even if it was just for a brief moment.
She excused herself and followed him outside, calling his name. He barely slowed his steps, "That's a good question blondie asked in there. Why are you here Morgan if you don't really want to be?"
"Don't you understand the hold you have on me?" Morgan cried out in desperation as Damon strode towards his car though she still had his keys in her hand.
He scoffed, turning to glare at her. "Do you love Jack?"
"Do you love Katherine?" She fired back, closing the distance between them.
"Didn't exactly answer the question."
"Neither did you." The wind began to pick up and Damon realized it was from the anger radiating off of Morgan. "But that's why I am here, right? We get your girlfriend out of the tomb and then you won't have any more use for me."
