Chapter 4
Vampire man and I locked eyes, neither one of us wanting to break our stare down or be the first to start the conversation. Everything my parents had taught me about spotting a vampire was about to pay off. My options were fairly simple, let him into the house and expose him, let him into the house and stake him, or not let him inside at all. I choose the latter.
Slamming the door in his face, I turned to see a raging Caroline charge at me like a cheetah does its prey. Leaning against the door, I prepared myself for her wrath. She stomped hard, moving until she was just mere inches away from me, and...let out a loud, guttural sigh.
"What are you doing, Lea?" She had both hands on her hips and looked beyond exasperated. It was then when I got a good look of her. It wasn't her curled hair, or the baby blue dress she wore that I noticed, Caroline always attempted to be the prettiest thing in the room, it was the scarf tied around her neck. It was blue, matching the color of her dress, and the material was light and soft. But who the fuck wears a scarf in the Summer? And Caroline Forbes wasn't a scarf person. Anything that unnecessarily hide Caroline's beauty was never be allowed in her daily wardrobe. This scarf was used to conceal something up. A hickey? Nah. Bite marks? Ding, ding, ding, ding, ding. We have ourselves a winner!
"Get out of my way." She nudged me over and the door opened once more. The vampire was still there, only this time with a confused look on his face.
"I'm sorry, did I do something wrong?" His voice, sweeter than sugar water, made Caroline weak. And just to add kick it up a notch, he gave her an innocent puppy dog look. Caroline, being the clichéd dumb blonde that she is, bought it. She was now what he wanted her to be, silly putty in his hands. He was good alright, but I was better.
With the strength of a Mystic Falls linebacker, I shoved Caroline to the ground, stepping over her fallen body ignoring how much I hurt her. A small fall was better than potentially letting a vampire kill her. I tried to gain control over the of the situation before Elena and Stefan, who were now in the kitchen, came out to see what all the ruckus was about.
"Of course not, I apologize for the rudeness. I'm Aaliyah Thompson, but everyone calls me Lea." I extended my hand, making sure the tips of my fingers never made it past the door frame. Rule number one about vampires, they can't come into a house uninvited. If he didn't shake my hand, he would only confirm my speculations.
"There's no need to apologize Lea," Hints of arrogance wafted through his words, "and I'm Damon Salvatore."
Noticing that my hand went untouched, I kept it out waiting for him to shake it. "Aren't you gonna shake my hand?"
"I'm more of a hug person." His retort was quicker than what I'd expected from him. However, he wouldn't be catching me off guard anytime soon.
"Come hug me then." I extended my arm to my sides waiting for him to step inside knowing that he never would.
"It would be rude of me to walk into Elena's house uninvited." His words became music to my ears. A fucking Tchaikovsky concerto played. The beautifully orchestrated notes flowed into my ears, reached my cerebrum, and validated everything. Boy oh boy, this man screamed vampire. It oozed from his pores like a zit on a teens face. He wouldn't be stepping in this house anytime soon.
"Mr. Salvatore, these aren't 1800s, people come into houses uninvited all the time." The flicker of annoyance in his eyes tickled me to no end. If laughing in his face didn't mean breaking out of character, I would have done it.
"If having manners means being dated, then called me old fashioned."
"Damon, what the hell are you doing here?" Stefan was now beside me brows furrowed. They knew each other? Dammit. But Stefan blatantly didn't like him. You could tell by his tense shoulders. He would only be an asset to plan get-rid-of-Damon.
"Waiting for Elena to invite me in so we can all have dinner. Which smells delicious by the way, Elena." Damon peered over both our shoulders, smiling at Elena who was helping a fallen Caroline.
"How did you get on the floor, Caroline?" Elena dusted off her presumably aching friend. I knew all too well what would be happening next. Caroline, pointing at me like a child, began to play the blame game.
"She pushed me!"
"Did not."
"You're such a liar, Lea. God, why did we even invite you here anyway?" The thanks I get for saving lives...
"Speaking of invites, Elena, how about you invite me in, and we can all forget what just happened." His words, once again sugary and sweet, were laced with bullshit. Damon didn't care about making amends and start overs. He was up to something. I had to put faith into Elena. Contrary to Caroline, she was somewhat smart. She would know that if Stefan didn't want him here, and I obviously didn't, then there was something wrong with this man.
"I agree. Damon would you like to-"
"NO!" Stefan and I shouted in unison. She failed my intelligence test.
"Do not invite him in, Elena." Stefan warned before I eyed him suspiciously. Stefan not wanting Damon here was one thing, him knowing not to invite him in was another. Something was afoot and I would be playing detective all through tonight's dinner.
"But-"
"If you invite him in, I am going home Elena." This was my last resort. If she didn't fall for my act, then we were all royally fucked.
"But I really want you here," She was getting sad and irritated. But with good reason. Here she was trying to have a wonderful evening, and I was being nothing but a downer. That would be the price I'd have to pay to keep everyone safe. "Look, I know everyone is a little on edge right now, but let's all calm down and enjoy dinner together. Damon would you like to come in."
"Yes, I would, Elena." I didn't know who Damon stared at more before coming in, me or Stefan. He slid in like a snake, purposefully bumping into me on his way in. If this is how he wanted to play it, then fine, I'd play. Picking up my book bag that sat at the entrance of the house, I prepared to make Damon wish he had chosen and eternity in hell over eating dinner with us.
