Disclaimer: I don't own Vampire Diaries or the cast, obviously, but all the other charcters are mine (:
Never Let Me Go
(Damon Salvatore/Aubrey Dalton)
Chapter 1: New Beginnings
Five years later…
She awoke to his familiar scent and his hand resting gently on her waist. He looked so peaceful. 'Damon peaceful… yeah right'. She laughed at the thought. She reached up to run her fingers in his dark locks and then placed a series of kisses up his jaw, earning a slight moan from the man beneath her. "Good morning Damon," she chuckled as he flipped them over so he was hovering over her.
"Good morning beautiful," he mumbled, obviously not yet fully awake. He bent down to ravage her neck, but she rolled out from underneath him and got out of bed, taking the sheet with her. "Hey come back!" he called as she wrapped the sheet around her body and walked towards the armoire in the corner of the room.
"I have class in 20 minutes," she said, rifling through her closet for something to wear.
"Learning's overrated," he whined, coming up behind her and wrapping his arms around her waist, "come back to bed with me." He purred in her ear. She turned around to face him, gently shoving him away.
"I've already missed three classes this week Damon and an exam. If I miss anymore I will loss my scholarship. Not all of us can live the glamorous, hedonistic lifestyle that is Damon Salvatore's," she said with her hands on her hips.
"I can take care of that," he said smirking, coming in again for a kiss. She ducked under his arm, pulling her blouse on, and grabbing her jeans off the floor.
"If by 'take care' you mean compel them then no thank you. You know how much I hate it when you do that. If, however, you have a secret trust fund of say about 100 grand that I do not know about then feel free to pay my ridiculous college bills," she said, adjusting the belt around her hip and pointing an accusatory finger at him before dipping into the bathroom to brush her teeth.
"Well I have got to go. Try not to break anything please. Play nice with the neighbors Damon," she said, coming out of the bathroom, slinging her messenger bag over her shoulder and grabbing a muffin from the kitchen.
"Yes mother," he said rolling his eyes. She laughed. She walked up to him and placed a kiss on his lips, breaking away when he snaked an arm around her waist to deepen the kiss. She involuntarily wrapped an arm around Damon's neck, pulling him in closer, if that was even possible. They broke apart, "so what were you saying about class?"
"Mm, I guess skipping one more class won't hurt…" she said, finally giving into him as he placed light kisses down her neck.
"I thought you'd see it my way," he said smirking. He pressed his lips against hers again, backing her into the bedroom.
Audrey woke up with a jolt. "That dream again," she mumbled rubbing her head, "I must be going crazy". She got out of bed and headed towards the bathroom. She brushed her teeth, and pulled on a white v-neck and a pair of black skinny jeans. She checked her phone on the way to the kitchen, 5 missed calls from Mom. Sighing she dialed the number for her mom. It rang twice before her mom picked up.
"Audrey Marie Dalton, why have you been ignoring my calls?" her mother demanded in a harsh tone.
"Um sorry mother I was sleeping…" she said, walking into the kitchen and opening the pantry to find it empty. She closed it and walked toward the fridge.
"Do you know what time it is young lady?" her mother asked. Audrey pulled her phone away from her ear to glance at the time, 12:54 PM.
"Uh… almost one?" she said.
"Exactly! You have slept through half the day! Now how do you expect to be successful if you sleep in everyday until past noon?" her mother reprimanded her. Audrey rolled her eyes, "do not roll your eyes at me young lady! Do not think that just because I cannot see you I do not know what going on in your head!"
"Ugh mother. I had a long journey yesterday and an equally long night of unpacking, so I decided to sleep an extra few hours. So what?" she was beginning to be annoyed with her mother's scolding.
"Do not use that attitude with me young lady…" her mother began before Audrey cut her off.
"Oh what was that mom? … I cannot hear you… The reception in small towns is just really bad mother… I am going through a tunnel… I will call you back later…" she made a muffling noise with her hand.
"Do not hang up on me young lady…" Audrey pressed the end button. She loved her mom, but her mother's traditional ways and incessant nagging got on her nerves sometimes. Sighing, she closed the door to the fridge, which was not surprisingly empty. Her stomach growled.
"Well, I guess Mystic Grill for lunch it is!" she grabbed her dark gray knit cardigan off the coat rack, slung her bag on her shoulder, and slipped on her black TOMS. She decided to forego her car today and get to know the town by walking. She had walked a whole 10 minutes before she realized that having only arrived in Mystic Falls yesterday night, she had absolutely no idea where Mystic Grill was, not only that, but she had the strangest feeling that she was being watched. 'You are losing it Audrey' she thought. She was too engrossed in her thoughts to realize that she was about set foot into oncoming traffic. A pair of rough hands pulled her out of the path of the oncoming truck, which let out a mighty honk as it whizzed past the pair.
"Are you okay?" said a concerned voice. She realized that it belonged to the person who had just saved her life, or at least from potentially life-threatening physical and mental injury she would have incurred had the car hit her. She blinked two times before she realized what had happened.
"Yeah sorry. I can be a bit spacey sometimes," she replied, stepping out his embrace. She extended her hand. "Thank you…" she was fishing for his name.
He shook her outstretched hand, "Alaric Saltzman."
"Pleasure to meet you Alaric Saltzman. My name is Audrey Dalton," she smiled at him.
"Nice to meet you Aubrey. Are you sure you are okay though? You seemed really out of it back there" he asked, casually sticking his hands in his jeans.
"Yeah," she laughed, "I am fine. I swear." She was about to say goodbye when her stomach growled rather loudly. Embarrassed, she blushed a deep red. "... well it was nice meeting you Alaric. But I will see you around. I need to feed my stomach."
"Bye." He watched as she walked away, this time making sure to look both ways before she strode purposefully across the crosswalk. She had already walked halfway across the street when it sudden occurred to him to ask, "Hey! Are you going to Mystic Grill?" She turned around with a questioning look.
"Yes, why?" she asked.
"Because if so you are going the wrong way," he tried to bite back his laugh, "come on I am headed there too, I will show you the way."
"Right. I knew that… thanks," she mumbled before quickly making her way over to him before another car comes by. She soon fell into step with him, falling into a comfortable silence.
"So, are you new to town?" He said in an attempt to strike up a conversation.
"Yeah, that obvious?" she laughed.
'She has a nice laugh' he noted 'Oh snap out of it Ric. You just met her'. His subconscious chided him. "Yeah you seemed pretty lost and confused back there," he pointed his thumb the direction they came for emphasis.
"Sorry. I am not usually this spacey. It is a recent thing. My mom says I fried all my brain cells because I studied too hard in school, and as a result I am slowly losing the ability to function like a normal human being. I was kind of a 'you can sleep when you're dead', workaholic in college."
"Really? Must have been rough."
"You have no idea. I had a huge Latin exam coming up one time, and I spent so much time preparing for it that I started to sleep talk in Latin. My roommate thought I was crazy."
"That is… kind of hilarious," he said chuckling lightly.
"Yeah, I have plenty of rather amusing college stories that plainly show there is such a thing as over studying for an exam," she said as they made a left on Birch Street.
"I would love to hear them," he said.
"Um well. Let's see…" she said, "I took a Shakespearean literature class my sophomore year. We had to do modern renditions of the play Hamlet as part of our final. I fell asleep one night listening to an audio tape recording of Hamlet. I woke up the next day to an extremely irate roommate. Apparently I had been loudly reciting Hamlet's "To be or not to be…" speech, demanding that the guards apprehend Claudius because he killed my father, and apparently declaring my undying love for Ophelia."
"Wow… I don't know what to say to that," he said.
"Yeah I probably shouldn't tell people that story…" I chucked nervously.
"Nah it is fine, I had my fair share of uh… interesting events during college," he said.
"I am sure."
"Well here we are," he spoke. We had come to a halt in front green building with tan awnings. "It is not much, but they have killer wings."
"It has character," she commented as they made their way inside. An idea popped into her head, "Hey, let me buy you lunch." Alaric looked a little taken back by the sudden comment and turned around to face Audrey. "Oh no I don't mean it like a date… I mean to say thank you… you know for saving my life and all…"
"That is not necessary Audrey. Really, it is no big deal," Alaric said.
"Remind me of that if I ever safe your life," she smiled. "Well you obviously do not know me very well Mr. Saltzman because I do not take no for an answer, besides I have been told I can be rather persuasive when necessary."
"Well how about we compromise? You can buy me a drink," he said turning towards her.
"Mm, isn't it a little early to be drinking?" she teased with a smile.
"You obviously do not know me very well either Ms. Dalton," he said making his way towards the bar.
"Touché," Audrey said, trailing behind him.
As they approached the bar, a tall blonde boy with bright blue eyes greeted them, "Hey Alaric. What can I get you?"
"Hey Matt," he replied, sliding into his seat, "Scotch on the rocks please."
"Hello," Audrey said politely, slipping into the seat next to Alaric, "I will have the same please."
Alaric turned to look at her, "I thought it was too early in the day for drinking."
She rolled her eyes at him, "Shut up."
"Thank you," he said as Matt passed him his and Audrey's drinks, "so where did you go to college?"
"Cambridge. Though, funnily enough, I did almost get kicked out sophomore year. Apparently you actually have to go to class and show up for tests. Who knew?" she laughed, sipping her drink.
"Wait, is this the same person who just told me that they studied so much for a Latin exam that they started sleep talking in Latin?" he asked incredulously.
"Yeah…" she began, "sophomore year was kind of a blur actually. I do not really recall much to be honest."
"Too much partying?"
"Yeah maybe…" she trailed off, "anyways, I am starved!" Alaric and Audrey ordered and soon their food arrived for them. A huge plate of salad appeared in front of her. Alaric raised an eyebrow at her. "I am a vegetarian," she said before digging into her beautiful leafy salad. Soon, they had finished eating and were on their way out. "Well thank you for saving my life, directing me in the right direction, and for lunch. I will see you around?"
"Actually this might be too forward, but do you want to come over?" Alaric asked, scratching the back of his head. 'God Alaric she probably thinks you're creepy now.' He thought.
"Yeah, sure… It is not like I have anything to do anyways," she offered him a bright smile, "lead the way."
"Where's Alaric?" a guy with dark brown hair asked as he entered the room.
"He left the house before noon, said he had to go to his apartment to grab something. I do not know why it has taken him so long to get back though," a tall, slender girl with dark brown hair answered.
"Did you tell him that Bonnie called a meeting?" a blonde girl asked.
"Yeah, I even texted him twice and called but no answer," the dark brown haired girl answered.
"That's strange…" the dark-haired guy commented.
"I will call Jer, see if he's stopped by the Grill today," the tall dark brown haired girl said, taking out her phone and dialing the number. It rang three times before he answered, "Hey Jer, has Alaric stopped by the Grill today? He left the house earlier but he hasn't come back yet and he isn't answering his phone."
"I wouldn't expect him to. He was here earlier with some girl. I think they were on a date?"
"Really? Oh well that's interesting I guess. Well thanks Jer," she said, giving her goodbye and hanging up. The group looked at her expectantly, "it appears Alaric is on a date."
"Date?" the dark haired guy inquired, "well I'd love to see who it is. I will go fetch our friend Alaric." He was smirking.
"Damon, play nice," the blonde-haired guy said.
"Always do Stefan, always do," Damon said as he walked out the door.
Audrey took a seat on the couch, careful to avoid the mess that seemed to be swallowing his apartment. "Yeah sorry for the mess, didn't have time to clean," he said sheepishly. He made his way over to the cabinet, pulling out two wine glasses. "Wine?"
"Already?" she laughed.
"Yeah I might have a problem…"
"The first step to recovery is admitting you have a problem. But sure I'd love some," she smiled, scooting over to make room for him on the couch. He set the glasses on the table and poured the wine inside them.
"So…" he began, propping his feet up against the coffee table and nestling back against the couch, "what did you study in college?"
"Well… I double majored in History of Art and English with a minor in Classical Latin," Audrey said sipping her wine.
"Impressive," Alaric noted.
"Yeah. I am a sucker for the Humanities," she chuckled.
"What brings you to Mystic Falls?"
"Well after my fiancé died, I kind of needed to get out of London. I didn't want to go home because I didn't need my mom coddling me like I am three years old again. I got tired of everyone constantly asking me if I was okay. I just kind of needed to get away from everything. I kind of stumbled upon Mystic Falls and felt compelled to move here. I've always loved small towns, plus I was born in Virginia so it seemed like the right choice," she unconsciously traced circles around the rim of her wine glass.
"I am sorry for your loss," he didn't know what else to say.
"It is fine, really it is. Turns out he wasn't exactly who I thought he was. I found out, after he died, that he was cheating on me with my best friend. He was planning on leaving me… but he didn't get a chance too… obviously…" she mumbled the last word and took a pause before continuing, "I guess after his death I realized I never really loved him. My family and my friends all loved him so much, and I guess I only decided to marry him because of all the pressure they were putting on me. I didn't want to let them down."
"That's… unfortunate. Can I ask how he died?"
"He was camping in the Appalachians with his friend. I was told it was an animal attack. They never found his body though, so they could not make a definitive call. They just assumed the animal… ate him…" she said, almost unable to utter the last few words.
"I am sorry," Alaric said, placing his hand on her thigh in an attempt to comfort her, "what was his name?"
"Andrew Lutz," she said. She paused a moment before saying, "Thank you Alaric."
"For what?"
"For listening and not freaking out. Usually when you first meet someone, you do not tell them about your dead ex-fiancé. It is not exactly a conversation starter," she chuckled a little, trying to lighten the mood.
"Trust me… I've had a lot worse in my time," he said. 'My ex-wife and my ex-girlfriend are both dead vampires. It doesn't get any worse than that,' he thought, shaking his head.
"Um, may I use the restroom?" Audrey asked, snapping Alaric out of his daze.
"Yeah, it is down the hall, second door on the left," he said.
"Thank you," she got up from the couch, setting her glass on the table, and walked towards the bathroom. Alaric groaned, putting his head in his hands, 'You are screwed buddy.' No longer than a minute had passed since Audrey got up to go to the restroom when there was a knock at the door. He decided to ignore it, hoping they would get the message and leave. No such luck however, the knocking continued.
"Alaric I know you're in there, open up or I will knock the door down."
Alaric walked up the door and whispered, "Damon I am kind of busy right now."
"Well witchey says she has found a way to kill Klaus and your presence is needed."
"Just fill me in later."
"No can do, orders. Now open the door, please," Damon said in a sickly sweet voice. Realizing that arguing was no use, he opened the door. "Thank you Alaric, now, let's see who this mysterious girl is…" Damon began but he stopped cold when he saw the girl who was coming out of the hall. 'Shit' he thought, 'you have got to be kidding me.' He inwardly groaned.
"Hello," she said politely.
"Uh Damon this is Audrey Dalton, Audrey this is Damon Salvatore," Alaric introduced. She stood up and walked up to him, extending her hand.
"It is a pleasure to meet you Damon Salvatore," she smiled.
"Yeah… nice to meet you too. If you'll excuse me for a minute," he said excusing himself from the room before bolting out the apartment.
But not before hearing Audrey say, "Well your friend is certainly a little weird. Anti-social?"
He whipped out his cell phone and dialed the number for his brother, "Stefan. We have a little problem…" He could hear his brother groan on the other end.
"How little?"
"Do you remember Audrey?" Damon asked.
"Yeah. Dalton right? That girl you dated 5 years ago?"
"That's the one. Well she's here… in Mystic Falls…"
"I thought you said you compelled her to forget she ever met you… She's not a vampire now is she?" his brother asked with hints of concern in his voice.
"I do not think so. Knowing her she would've attacked me if she remembered."
"We'll deal with it if it comes to that, but right now it is probably best if you avoid her as much as possible."
"Okay. I will be back soon… with Alaric," he added as he said bye to his brother and hung up. He walked back into the apartment. "Alaric, sorry to break up this little… whatever but we need to leave. Now would be good," he said, regaining his composure.
"Err yeah okay. Sorry Audrey, I have to go. But make yourself at home, I will be back later," Alaric said, grabbing a black bag off the counter and followed Damon out the door.
"No worries, have fun!" she called out after them in a cheery tone. 'He looks really familiar...' Audrey thought as she picked up the wine glasses and placed them in the sink. 'Oh Audrey you must really be going crazy.' Shaking her head, she looked around the now empty apartment. 'Well since I have nothing better to do...' She pulled her iPod out of her bag, plugged in her ear phones and began the arduous task of cleaning Alaric's apartment.