Damon easily unlocked the front door, not by knocking and waiting patiently like every other living creature, but by kicking it in. He would have attracted less attention to himself in this euphoric haze--called 'being drunk' to most common mortals--if he had any use of his hands to his disposal, but Caroline Forbes was currently occupying them. One might find this unfortunate, if the elder Salvatore wasn't such a womanizer. Oh, he knew what he was doing… but I guess that's easy for someone who always does what he wants.

Nudging the door closed behind him with his shoulder, his bright blue eyes immediately searched the place for any intruders or signs of his younger brother. Either would be taken as a threat at this point: strangers for more obvious reasons and Stefan because he was… well, such a buzzkill.

Walking over to the couch in the living room with his usual swagger and a hint of a stumble in his step from the booze, Damon leaned forward to lower the alabaster skinned teenager into the sinking cushions. This, however, was hindered two seconds too much by the fact that Caroline had subconsciously wrapped her arms around him, her cool fingertips slipping through the small hairs on the back of his neck while in her deep slumber. His lips parted to utter something between an amused sigh and a few curse words, reaching up behind him begrudgingly to remove the offending, yet oddly soothing hand.

Staring down at her now with their bodies no longer touching, Damon couldn't help but feel a strong sense of control wash over him as his taller frame hovered over her slumped, but fragile form. Her blonde tresses were splayed around her, as if he was staring dead straight into the sun. Sometimes if he watched her for too long, his eyes would start to hurt. Sometimes he wondered how she could shine so brightly without exploding.

And then other times, Damon wondered why he still had such thoughts when he was drunk, even now as a vampire.

Shaking his head, he carelessly left her body there as he went out in search for more booze. He was sure that they had plenty in the liquor cabinet, unless broody Stefan finally decided to be a little more fun and down a few before his outing tonight, wherever he was. Opening the wooden doors, his blue eyes narrowed slightly as they moved over the labels of the old wines and whiskeys. They were all there, just as he thought. The corner of his lips curling up into a steadfast smirk, Damon triumphantly muttered, "Mmm, didn't think so," before grabbing the neck of a bottle for himself.


Her eyes fluttering open slowly, Caroline groaned gently as the things in her peripheral vision started to blur into focus. But the more they did, the less she could piece together where she was. Her hands reached out to search around her blindly, her palms sliding across the fine, smooth material of the couch that must have been a Salvatore trait as the blonde slowly moved into a sitting position.

As soon as she did, however, her eyebrows furrowed as she picked up on the sound of music. No, not the cute musical. In fact, it wasn't cute at all when it caused a pang in her head, as if her hangover was leaving her a rain check to cash in the next morning. Reaching up to wipe off some dirt from the corner of her mouth with the back of her hand, Caroline turned her head this way and that, trying desperately to search for the source of the ruckus.

Leaning forward to rest the bottom of her feet against the cold floor, she immediately felt goosebumps forming on the surface of her skin, but the chill wasn't caused from the change in temperature. It wasn't even the fact that she didn't know where she was or how she got there in the first place.

No, it was the handsome devil going on kidnapper that was suddenly standing right infront of her, giving her that look with his piercing icy blue gaze. The look that told her that she wasn't going anywhere. Yes, the same look that had promised her so many things, but never abided to any of them. And that look that Stefan Salvatore never gave her, because she wasn't pretty enough, or smart enough, or just not his type.

That look that made her fall in love with him all over again, even if for him it always seemed like a game that he would never lose.

Was it stupid for her to think that this time it would be different? That for once Damon would actually say what was on his mind, instead of controlling hers to avoid any questions that he didn't want to answer? Maybe. But then again, love never seemed to make much sense to the girl with a broken smile, if this was even love at all. Whatever it was, he seemed very determined not to lose it, and far be it for her to convince him of the lie that she no longer wanted to see him.

"Damon… what is that awful noise? What are we doing here?" she asked him rhetorically, knowing that the vampire would never humor her. Her tone was alot softer and weaker than she hoped it would be, escaping her lips like a silent plea that never needed to be answered. Just like unrequited love.


He had been watching her longer than she thought, taking in her striking qualities with every swig off the bottle that he took. It was like playing a game of 'drink every time you see something you like,' except that those thoughts would never leave his mind. That same dark mind that often didn't take a big role in planning out his impulsively destructive behavior, like when he snapped someone's neck or brought someone home for the night. You see, he was under the impression that living forever meant being too old for consequences... no one else seemed willing to correct him just yet.

As soon as he saw the first signs of her awakening, Damon had decided to speed up the process a little bit. Call him selfish, even to his face if you want, but he was getting rather bored watching her sleep the night away. She would have plenty of time for that later... hopefully, she just wouldn't start one of her beauty sleep rants, because quite honestly, he wasn't in the mood to hear it.

But instead, Caroline simply took in her surroundings before she even spotted him. Sometimes he forgot that his senses were far more advanced than hers. He would be able to tell if there was another vampire in the room with his eyes closed. It could simply be the sound of their fangs scraping together or the scent of blood on their clothing, but Damon liked to make himself believe that he would never be caught by surprise.

So when Caroline started the same old song and dance, it was all he could do not to roll his eyes at her dismissively. He never liked to give out the final act without a show. What was the fun in that? She must have known it by now though, as she fell silent soon after speaking and simply stared at him. It was always in her nature to bicker with him, it seemed. Maybe it ran in her veins, but he noticed her apprehension far before she ever parted those full lips. Her fear always fed him, but unless he could have a taste, it always left him feeling a little bit short of high.

"Shh," he whispered in his husky, low tone as he brought his hand up to her mouth, his index finger pressing firmly against her lips before his thumb tugged down gently on her lower lip. "You'll miss the party… I'm sure you wouldn't want to do that, now would you?" His thumb grazed across her mouth, causing her to shiver at his cold touch.

However, Damon seemed satisfied by this and quickly withdrew his hand, leaving her starstruck and transfixed on his form, which she soon realized was bare from the waist up. Her bright eyes lowered sheepishly as a light blush formed on her cheeks, though her real intention was to avoid falling under his spell again… and maybe scope over his abdomen on the way down… just a little.

It wasn't long before he was gone from the view again, which was just like him to disappear right after drawing her in.


Author's Notes: Thanks for all the great reviews! This has been the first time that I've done something of this sort, so it's been great being so well-received. I hope to update more often, especially now that Season 1 of Vampire Diaries is coming to an end. Gotta get a Damon fix somewhere, right?