a/n: I'm glad you guys are liking this story :) It was inspired by the song "Eerily and Hauntingly" by Storyline. As for the relationships mentioned in this chapter, all I have to say is it's not a big deal to the story, so I thought I would have some fun :)

TWO

After the long walk home, Damon laid in his bed, staring at the ceiling with all the lights on. Every time his eyes closed, even a little bit, he saw her face. He shuddered each and every time the image came to mind. Even as the sunlight began to shine around the curtains, he was still stuck between total fear and disbelief. By the time he had to get ready for work, he was in complete denial over the fact that it had ever happened. He was determined to believe that what he had seen was his mind playing tricks on him with help from the amount of alcohol he had consumed. It didn't matter how many times he had to repeat it, he was going to until he believed it.

The moment he got to the studio, everything seemed to balance out a little. The warm welcome he received by his partner handing him his morning coffee eased his troubled mind even more. "You look like hell," Caroline said as she followed him into his office.

"And I don't feel much better."

"What happened last night?" she asked with a smirk on her face as she perched herself on the edge of his desk.

"I went to the Grill with the guys."

The smirk dissolved from her face and a look of curiosity took its place. "Oh? What did you guys talk about?"

Damon shook his head. "I have no idea. Apparently I drank more than usual because I don't remember a thing." His head tipped to the side as he saw Caroline sign in relief. "Should there be something that I remember?"

"Nope," she answered quickly, giving him a smile that told him otherwise. Damon continued to stare at her, knowing that even as good at being stubborn, Caroline loved to gossip more than anything. She sighed again and shut the door. "Alright, alright. I think I might have started something with Klaus."

"Might have?"

She nodded quickly. "Well, we kissed, but didn't really talk about it after that."

"Huh," Damon said, thinking back to the beginning of the previous night. "I do remember Klaus hinting at something like that."

"So let's say we did start something. It wouldn't be weird for you would it?"

"Why would it be?" Damon asked.

"Really? Klaus is one of your best friends, you and I used to-"

"Used to," Damon repeated. "As in we don't anymore and we're both okay with that."

"Still," she muttered with a shrug.

He took a drink of his coffee and leaned back in his chair so he could look at her better. "Caroline, we were never actually together, we weren't in love or anything like that. Don't take this the wrong way, but I don't care if you start seeing someone; even Klaus."

If he had said that to anyone else, he would have expected that steaming cup of coffee to end up in his lap, but he knew Caroline understood what he meant. She nodded and gave him the smile he knew she had been holding back. "Good, because I'm seeing him on Friday night."

"Good for you."

"So, are you sure you don't remember anything from last night?" she asked, her voice filled with concern. "Because whatever you did, it doesn't look like it was much fun."

It wasn't. He shrugged. "I couldn't say."

Before he had to come up with something else as a cover, someone tapped on the door and opened it. In came Andie Star, the lead reporter for the television station that he and Caroline co-owned. Instantly the air became thick with awkwardness as Caroline and Andie mentally sized each other up. Damon couldn't help but blame himself. He was the one that had told Andie about his past with Caroline after they had started dating and ever since then, Andie had become territorial. Even now after they had been broken up, she still hated the fact that Caroline was around.

"We'll talk later," Caroline said and walked out of Damon's office.

"Andie, what brings you in so early?"

"I have a good idea for a story," she said, sitting down in one of the chairs on the opposite side of his desk.

"Alright, let me hear it," he said, glad that focusing on his work seemed to take his mind off of last night.

As the business day came to a close and night began to over come the day, Damon felt the fear seeping in again. The thought of going to the bar to chase that feeling away with his favorite scotch made it easier to accept the night's approach. When he got to the Grill, Mason and Klaus were already there, laughing at something at their usual table. When they spotted Damon at the entrance, they waved him over. "You guys are the worst friends ever," Damon said as he approached them.

"So, was it haunted?" Mason asked.

Damon shrugged casually. "I can't really say. All I remember is waking up in the middle of a rain storm in front of an old, abandoned house. I walked home after that, the rain sobered me up."

"I told you he was too chicken to go in," Klaus teased, giving Damon a nudge. "We went back for you, but we couldn't find you. We figured you would find your way."

"Thanks for getting my car back to my place, but the two of you owe me a knew jacket," he said, nodding to the waitress as she brought him a drink.

"Sorry man, we didn't think about that," Mason said.

"You don't say," Damon commented and turned to Klaus. "So Caroline tells me that the two of you have a date on Friday."

Klaus nearly choked on his drink and grinned sheepishly. "That's alright with you, right?"

"As I told her, I don't care. Just don't treat her badly or I will have to kick your ass."

Klaus laughed loudly and nudged Damon with his shoulder again. "I would love to see you try." With that, the conversation turned into a normal one and Damon relaxed again, but this time he wasn't going drink as much as he had the previous night.

As Damon left the Grill that night, he was only able to focus on how bright the moon was. He sat in his car in the parking lot and simply stared up at it. After a long sigh, he found himself on the road, traveling in the opposite direction of his house. Instead, he was headed towards the abandoned house. Slowly, he pulled his car off the road and stared at the house, taking in the way it was illuminated by the moon. Now that his mind was clear and there wasn't a raging storm outside, the idea of the house being haunted seemed silly. Once again, he had to reassure himself that there was nothing inside but a bunch of old dusty things that the previous owners had left behind.

With that, Damon got out of his car and made his way towards the house again, this time determined to hold his fear in check. He pushed the door open with his index finger, a chill erupting down his spine as it creaked. Slowly, he stepped into the foyer again and stopped upon seeing the contents of the house. For the property having been abandoned a very long time ago, things were in better condition than he would have thought. The night before the house had seemed as if it were in shambles, but now, it didn't seem so bad.

He shrugged and began moving forward again, this time making it all the way into the kitchen. Sure enough, the fixtures captured his attention the most. He was still impressed with how new they looked even though he knew they were old. As he inspected the antique stove, another chill washed over him and he turned around quickly only to discover nothing behind him. It was when his eyes landed on the table that he remembered what he thought he saw on the ground. Carefully, he went to the spot by the broken chair and knelt down. Sure enough, the stain was still there and it was definitely blood. It was faint, but a faded bloodstain was something that Damon could recognize anywhere; even under all that dust and debris.

Damon got to his feet and let his gaze drift off to the hallway just beyond the kitchen. He knew he had to go up there, but a part of him didn't want to. He knew there was a fifty-fifty chance of seeing her again by going up there. Before he could even decide for himself, his curiosity got the best of him and he found himself walking up the creaking staircase and down the hall to the last door on the right. It was still open from last night and as he walked in, an eery feeling washed over him. Even if there wasn't a ghost and what he had seen was a figment of his imagination, something had happened here and he could feel it.

He stood in the doorway as he let his eyes survey the room. As he peaked around the corner, he saw the little balcony with the French doors wide open, gently swinging in the soft breeze. The balcony faced the moon, bringing in a lot of light. It was almost as if it were daylight out and it allowed him to see everything, including the same faded stains on the wall and floor. Unlike downstairs where it was just the one spot, it was in various places in this room. It gave him the chills again and he knew it was time to leave. There was nothing here except for the sure signs that whatever happened here wasn't pretty.

By the time Damon reached the bottom of the stairs again, he felt better. It had been just a combination of the storm and the alcohol, allowing his mind to play tricks on him. Yes, the house had a story and yes, not knowing it was pretty creepy, but it wasn't haunted. That kind of stuff wasn't real; ghosts didn't exist. He was practically laughing at himself as he reached the front door, but as he pulled it open, his beliefs changed.

"Don't go," came a hushed female voice from behind him.

Damon went from relaxed to terrified in an instant. His eyes squeezed shut as he repeated the same motto in his mind over and over again: you're hearing things, it's the wind. There's no such things as ghosts. Just as Damon was about to walk out the door with the intention of never stepping foot in this house again, he felt something. It was like a hand on his shoulder and he whirled around to see that it was a hand on his shoulder; the hand of a ghost.

The girl that had been haunting his mind all day was standing right in front of him. Her eyes were wide in a mixture of surprise and fright and she was holding her hand as if touching him had burned her. Just as his mouth opened to say something, she disappeared from his sight. Damon blinked, trying to get his bearings, and then exited the house in a daze. This time, as he headed home, he was unable to deny the fact that ghosts did exist. How could he deny something that he could feel and hear? It was then that he realized he couldn't rest until he found the answers.