Hi guys ! Sorry for the small delay in posting, and the slightly shorter chapter, but Real Life and work have been keeping me rather busy and I did my best to bring it to you nonetheless. Unfortunately I didn't have the time to send it to my friend Heather so it's not corrected, but hopefully it isn't that bad ;o)
So I will be taking a break from posting next weekend, to give me some time to write more and maybe gain some advance, as I really want to give you quality stuff and not rushed it like I had to do for this one. I'll be back with a new chapter the New Year's weekend though, I promise. But...that doesn't mean I won't post any story, as I actually wrote two oneshot sa while back, and should get some time now to type them as it is calming down.
I hope you enjoy it and always appreciate the reviews of course ;o)
The music wasn't exactly Caroline's taste, but she didn't mind. A few minutes after arriving in this club with Damon, she had been approached by a cute guy who had offered her a drink. They had been talking for a good 30 minutes when Caroline got thirsty again.
She excused herself to get something at the bar. Damon was there, chatting up a pretty redhead.
"I might get lucky tonight," she sing-songed to him while waiting for her drink.
He raised an eyebrow and she did a slight head movement to point out the guy.
Damon frowned. "Really? That's the best you can do?"
She shot him an exasperated look. Of course he would say that.
"Damon, I haven't got laid in months. I don't want to be picky, and besides he's really cute."
Damon put his hand on her shoulder with a fake commiserated look.
"Then maybe I should have warned you about the house's rule : No boys in your room until you are 18."
She opened her mouth, closed it and opened it again. "You do know that I'll never turn 18, right?"
He smirked. "Yeah, I know. That's too bad."
He turned back to the redhead -who was looking at Caroline very nastily now – but heard Caroline say, "Never mind, I'll just go to his place."
He did a 180 immediately.
"What? No, no, no. You don't know that guy, Barbie. What if he's a werewolf, or a vampire slayer?"
She rolled her eyes. "And what if he's the best sex I'll ever have?"
He gave her an arrogant look. "No chance in hell. I was the best sex you'll ever have."
She gave him a saccharine smile. "And how am I supposed to remember that? I was compelled most of the time."
That shut him up as she grabbed her glass and left.
She didn't really mind him being protective, but he was really pushing it. Why did he care who she was sleeping with? If he was starting to regulate her sex life, they were definitely going to have a problem.
The cute guy wasn't where she left him. She scanned the crowd and spotted him talking to another blond, his hand firmly planted on her waist. A bit shocked, Caroline made her way back to the bar. She had been gone like 5 minutes !
"Back already?" Damon turned to her again, to the obvious furor of the redhead.
"Well, he's not a werewolf or a vampire slayer, he's just an asshole," she told him and pointed to the new couple in the making.
"Sorry about that, Blondie," he said and he smiled genuinely, putting a caressing hand through her hair.
The redhead apparently decided this was too much as she finally blurted, "Excuse me, but who are you?" in a rather aggressive manner.
"Oh, sorry, how rude of me," Damon apologized. "Caroline, this is Amanda. Amanda, this is my, uh, sister. Caroline."
The girl immediately smiled again and held out her hand. "Sorry. Nice to meet you."
Caroline shook her hand with a fake smile before turning back to Damon.
"Listen, I'll just go home."
He shot her an incredulous look and checked his watch. "Already ? It's barely 11 pm."
"I know, but that stupid jerk kind of ruined my night. And I'm tired anyway. I'll see you tomorrow, ok?"
She smiled and started to leave, not bothering to greet Amanda-the-redhead goodbye.
"Caroline wait."
Surprised, she turned around and saw Damon walking toward her.
"I'll come with you. I want to be sure that you get home safely."
Her initial reaction was to protest but she decided against it. She actually liked when Damon let his 1860's personality come out, as it was infrequent. That protective side she could totally deal with, and even appreciated it.
Even if a chivalrous Damon was a really hard thing to resist.
He went back to the girl and talked to her before making his way back to Caroline. They walked out of the club, his hand carelessly put on her lower back. A few minutes later they were in a cab.
As she remained uncharacteristically silent, he told her, "Come on, don't get all depressed over a stupid guy."
She sighed. "It's not the guy, it's just...I don't know, I just miss...having someone."
"You have me," he said, sounding almost offended.
"You know what I mean."
"I thought you wanted to focus on your studies?"
"I do. I just need to get used to be single and on my own. Not that I don't enjoy it. I mean, it feels really good to be drama-free for a change." She shrugged. "You know what, never mind. That was just me having one of my famous neurotic, insecure moment."
He smiled. "Hadn't seen that side of you in a while...didn't miss it," he added and she laughed.
Back at the apartment, she thanked him and went directly to the bathroom. Damon stayed in the living room, debating what to do. Should he go back to the club to the pretty Amanda? Or should he stay and spend some time with Caroline who obviously needed some cheering up ?
Surprisingly, the choice wasn't that hard to make. He took his jacket off and turned the TV on.
When Caroline got out of the bathroom in her pj's, she found him rummaging through the cabinet under the TV.
"You're still there?" she inquired, taken aback.
"Yeah, I don't really feel like going back. Want to watch a movie?"
She hid her smile, knowing exactly what he was doing, even though he wouldn't admit it. And then she frowned. She didn't really want to see that sweet side of him that made her heart melt even more than it already had.
"Sure. What do you propose?" she asked nevertheless.
"Well, since you've never seen it..." he showed her the DVD case of Sleepless in Seattle and she settled down on the couch with a laugh.
"Great idea."
He put the disc in and dimmed the lights a bit. His gaze fell on Caroline as she was watching the opening titles. Her face was make-up free, her cheek still rosy from the heat of the shower, her blond curls surrounding her pretty face like a halo.
His stomach did a weird flip-flop, but it lasted for just a second, and he dismissed it. Probably an indigestion. Yes, that must be it.
"Do I have something on my face?" she asked suddenly, putting a self-conscious hand on her cheek, and he realized that he had been standing there like an idiot, staring. He cleared his throat. The weird feeling...the indigestion...was back.
Some blood would surely cure it effectively.
Yes, because indigestion is such a common occurrence with vampires, a little voice said inside his head and he quickly shut it up.
He went to get a glass for him and Caroline and sat down beside her to watch the movie.
Halfway through it, Caroline suddenly turned to him. "Hey, that girl, Amanda...you didn't compel her to wait for you, did you?"
He gave her a blank look, obviously wondering who she was talking about, before standing up. "Oops. I'll be right back."
She was still laughing when he got back a few minutes later.
Caroline loved the movie of course, and when the end credits rolled she wanted to go back on top of the Empire State.
Damon gave her a teasing look. "Tom Hanks won't be there waiting for you."
"Well no, but maybe someone else will."
He rolled her eyes and smiled at her hopeless romanticism. She was incorrigible. But he was the first to admit that she deserved to be loved unconditionally by a great guy who would offer her flowers on top of any building.
And that guy would be a lucky bastard to be loved by her.
He changed channels before settling for a trashy reality show both of them liked. After a while he felt a weight on his shoulder and saw that Caroline had fallen asleep.
He turned the TV off and got up, taking her in his arms and bringing her to her room. He tucked her in, and impulsively put a soft kiss on her forehead.
"Sweet dreams, Blondie," he whispered before leaving the bedroom.
He was becoming a bit of a sap by being in constant contact with her, but as long as no one knew he was ok with it.
When Caroline woke up in her bed the next morning, she wondered how she got there, then assumed that Damon probably tucked her in. The thought made her smile, as living with him allowed her to discover some part of his personality that she honestly didn't suspect. But as she had thought the night before, she wasn't sure she wanted to know so much about it. The more she knew, the more susceptible she was to get a giant crush on him.
Falling in love with Damon Salvatore was not an option. She had to ingrained that firmly in her mind, and everything would be perfectly alright.
The next weekend, Damon went out on his own as Caroline had a test the following week and preferred to stay home and study.
On the Sunday morning she was taking her breakfast while perusing her books when a pretty blonde girl came out of Damon's room, half dressed.
A bit startled, Caroline watched with her mug of coffee stopped midway to her mouth. She hadn't heard Damon come in last night. Thank God for that.
"Hi!" The blonde said while obviously searching for her pants. She found it behind the sofa. "I'm Julie," she introduced herself.
"Caroline," the blonde vampire answered, not especially shocked as Damon sometimes brought girls back but they generally left before Caroline got up.
"Are you his girlfriend?" Julie asked with an ingenuous look.
Caroline stared at her for a few seconds. Why did Damon always had to go for the cliché dumb type ?
"No, I'm not. If I was, you would already be dead, Juliet," she said with a patronizing yet deadly smile.
The girl giggled stupidly, "You're funny."
Caroline raised an eyebrow. "Not really."
Julie took her bag from one of the chair – Caroline hadn't even noticed it. "It's Julie, not Juliet, by the way. Well, I guess I'll see you around," she said and Caroline addressed her a super fake friendly smile.
"I highly doubt it, but who knows? Bye, Juliet."
The girl opened her mouth, probably to correct her once more before changing her mind and leaving the apartment with an umpteenth giggle and a little wave.
Less than 15 seconds later Damon showed his head through his bedroom door.
"Is she gone?"
"Who? Julie?"
He frowned. "That was her name?"
She sent him one of her looks, this time the 'Seriously Damon?' one. "You're unbelievable, and I mean this in a bad way."
He smirked. "Yes, because you were sooo nice to her. I almost forgot how bitchy you could be, and I mean this in a good way," he said while joining her at the kitchen island and pouring himself a cup of coffee.
"So, I guess I don't need to ask you if you had fun last night," she commented, trying to ignore that he was just wearing sweatpants and nothing else.
He shrugged. "Same old same old. It's more fun when you are there," he said casually, and she did her best to repress the wave of pleasure she felt at his words.
Damon was so reluctant at expressing his feelings that it was through little sentences like that that she knew he appreciated her. It was a far cry from 'You're amazing Caroline and I can't live without you' but it was his way of doing things and she accepted it and enjoyed it all the same.
There was a knock at the door and they looked at each other.
"You're expecting someone?" they said in unison, and Caroline got up with a smile.
"I bet it's Juliet coming back for round two," she teased him and laughed at his horrified look.
She opened the door, watched the person standing there and the first thing that came to mind was, "Elena?"
The brunette on the threshold gave her a lopsided smile. "Guess again, Barbie."