"Humanity is a vampires greatest weakness. No matter how easy it is to turn it off, it just keeps fighting its way back in. Sometimes, I let it." - Katherine Pierce
Chapter 2
Welcome to Mystic Falls, Population: 4, 013.
Audrey grinned as she drove Travis' truck past the welcome sign, relieved she had finally made it to Mystic Falls alive and well.
Travis' truck stunk of air-freshener and cologne. He was obviously a sloppy kind of person; stacks of paper lay discarded in the back seat as well as empty drink bottles that rolled around as Audrey turned corners. In the passenger seat there was what looked like a beer stain. Audrey also found out that there was a stash of blood-bags hidden in the consol of the car. She had also found bandages chucked in behind the blood, which Audrey used to cover up her wound.
Audrey wanted to dump the car as soon as she had reached Mystic Falls. Seeing as her car had broken down though, she was going to have to hold onto the old truck for a while.
As much as Audrey wanted to drive to her new home and sleep till morning, she found herself turning into an empty parking lot. Cutting the engine, she decided to sit in silence for a while, the recent events replaying in her mind.
She took a deep breath before climbing out of the truck, her eyes flashing to a neon green sign that read Mystic Grill. A burger wouldn't be so bad right now, she thought as she made her way into the bar.
Retro music blasted from speakers hanging from the walls. A group of teenagers were playing pool, some cheering loudly at nothing in particular, and going quiet when an elderly man glared at them from across the room. Even though the place wasn't that busy, a waitress ran past Audrey looking flustered and dishevelled.
Audrey made her way towards the bar, sliding onto an empty stool next to two men who looked like they were in a heated discussion. Deciding not to annoy the pair, Audrey swivelled around on her stool and watched as the teenagers started another round of pool.
"Hey! Do I know you?" Audrey swung back around on her chair. The man next to her scrutinized her, scrunching his nose up and squinting. "I'm Alaric Saltzman; I have definitely seen you around before."
Alaric extended his hand, waiting for Audrey to shake it. Reluctantly, she shook his hand, it was rough like sandpaper. Alaric had longish blonde hair and hazel eyes; he looked tired and distressed as he reached for his beer.
"Ric, I think you've had a bit too much to drink." The man beside Alaric spoke, fighting back a grin but failing. "You've had too much to drink Damon; you were the one that said you wanted to drown your sorrows!" Alaric shot back, swaying as he turned to face his companion who now wasn't trying to hide his amusement.
"You claim to know everyone when you're drunk!" Damon replied coolly, clearly knowing how to deal with a drunk.
Damon had ice blue eyes that seemed to be shining underneath the dim bar lights. His dark hair fell just past his ears. His hair stuck up in all directions but for some reason, he managed to pull off the look. His mouth was twisted into a confident smirk as he watched Alaric sway some more.
"Damon Salvatore, are you new to town?" Damon asked Audrey, ignoring Alaric as he slid off the bar stool muttering something about the bathroom.
"I just got here a few minutes ago actually." Audrey told him suddenly feeling uncomfortable as Damon stared at her. His gaze didn't leave hers, even when she cleared her throat and tapped her fingers against the counter. Did he know?
Alaric came stumbling back to the bar, his face pale and sweaty as he collapsed onto the stool.
The three sat in an awkward silence, Damon watched the waitress walk around, smirking. Alaric played with his glass, swishing the remaining beer around while Audrey stared at the front door, wondering if she should break the silence or not.
"I'm Audrey Dillon." She announced, finally mustering up the courage to speak. Both Alaric and Damon turned to look at her; Damon seemed to be deep in thought while Alaric looked surprised.
"I've heard your name before, I just can't remember where…" Damon mused as Audrey's breath caught in her throat, "r-really?" She stuttered, hoping Damon didn't realise her voice had shaken when she spoke.
As Damon opened his mouth to speak, Alaric cut him off quickly, "I knew I'd recognized you from somewhere!" He shouted happily making Damon chuckle. "You're Riley's kid!" He continued, looking excited as he bounced up and down on the stool.
"How'd you know?" Audrey asked, her mouth agape and her eyes widening. Nobody had ever made the connection between her and her father, they all thought she looked a lot like her mother. Audrey hated that people thought that though, she always wanted to be like her father, she wanted nothing to do with her mother.
"You have the same nose… and Riley had freckles across his nose as well. Oh! And you have the same smile!" Audrey couldn't hold off the grin. Her day had gone from bad to worse, but just hearing those words made her feel like she could take on the world.
Just as Audrey opened her mouth to ask how Alaric knew her father, the bar fell quiet. There was a groan from the hinges on the front door as it swung open. From over in the corner of the Grill, someone had dropped their drink but nobody payed any attention to that as every single person in the room turned to stare.
Alaric and Damon turned around and immediately the good mood everyone was in drained from the atmosphere. Damon had a scowl on his face and Alaric was clutching his glass so hard his knuckles were turning white. Audrey craned her neck, trying to look over her shoulder and see who had ruined everyone's mood.
Everyone seemed to be holding their breath, nobody dared to make even the slightest noise.
"Look who strolled in for a midnight snack." Damon mumbled to Alaric who covered his laugh with a cough. "We should leave though…" Alaric whispered back; Damon nodded his head in agreement before standing up and strolling over to whoever had entered.
Finally Audrey caught a glimpse of short brown hair before whoever it was walked out of view. A strikingly beautiful girl followed, her long blonde hair whipping out behind her. As if knowing Audrey was staring, the girl turned and looked at her, her expression stony and impassive. Damon ushered the girl forward, whispering something into her ear which made her turn to look at him.
"Who are they?" Audrey couldn't help but ask Alaric who looked at her out of the corner of his eye. "I'll tell you when we get outside." He replied before finishing off the rest of his beer, standing and walking out of the bar. Wordlessly, Audrey followed.
"Rebekah and Kol Mikaelson… you, uh probably don't want to mess with them…" Alaric trailed off for a second, "ever." He added as an afterthought, laughing nervously.
"Why are you telling me this?" Audrey asked, "I mean; we barely know each other."
"Your dad and I were best friends, I feel like I owe it to him to make sure your safe." Alaric explained, wringing his wrists nervously, refusing to look at Audrey. "I can take care of myself. Thanks for looking out for me though." Audrey replied her voice soft yet full of emotion.
Just thinking about her father brought tears to her eyes. She wouldn't cry though, especially not in front of someone she met fifteen minutes ago.
"Where did Damon go?" Audrey asked, quickly changing the subject from her Dad. "Um, he just needed to have a chat with Kol and Rebekah about… things." Alaric worded things carefully, as if he didn't want Audrey to know too much.
Thank you to RoseRedGurl, Roses10, LizzieR97, Vampire Lover Forever123, Rayralo and Rae for the reviews!
RoseRedGurl, in all honesty I didn't even think of Buffy when I wrote up that chapter, but I promise you it won't be like Buffy.
Anyway, thank you once again for all the reviews, I loved reading them!
