04; What Do You Regret?

The next morning, Francesca rolled over in the bed and took a deep breath. Her stomach rumbled when the smell of bacon hit her nose.

After climbing out of bed, she quickly showered then threw on a pair of black jeans and a black shirt. After applying a little makeup and fixing her hair, she walked out of the bedroom and headed downstairs.

She followed the delicious smell into the kitchen, where she found Stefan standing in front of the stove frying bacon.

"Yum! That smells good." She said, entering the room.

"Morning, Ces." He mumbled.

"Morning, Stef." She replied back. "You still hate me?"

He sighed as he flipped the bacon over,"I never hated you, Ces, I just hate how you hurt Damon."

"I don't mean to." She spoke honestly. She walked toward him and threw an arm around his shoulder,"You know you're like a little brother to me."

"Yeah, yeah, I know."

"Then you should also know that means you can't stay mad at me for long." She pointed out as she grabbed a piece of bacon off of the plate by the stove.

Stefan slapped at her hand before saying,"That's not for you."

"Let me guess, it's for Elena." She teased as she shot him a smile before hopping up to sit on the counter.

Stefan smiled back,"Yes, she stayed over last night."

"Good for you, Stefan, she seems like a great girl. Unlike someone else who looks just like her." She said bitterly.

Stefan grunted in response as he quickly scrambled some eggs.

"Speaking of which, I heard Katherine is in town." Francesca said, glancing over at him and trying to gauge his response to the name, she was thrilled to see he was not hung up on her anymore. Katherine really screwed with both of them.

"Yep."

"What does she want?"

"Who knows. This is Katherine we are talking about." Stefan said bitterly.

Francesca placed her hands behind her and leaned back against the counter. "Don't let her get to you, she's just mad that you are over her now. You have moved on and anyone could see that you and Elena are head over heels in love with each other and that has to be killing her."

"Hopefully it will kill her." Stefan stated as he finished preparing the meal. He quickly cleaned up after himself, then without another word walked out of the kitchen holding a plate of food.

"If it doesn't I will." Francesca mumbled to herself as she hopped down and pulled her cell phone out of her pants pocket.

She quickly dialed a number and began to pace a little as she waited for an answer.

"Hey, Max, I need your help." She said as soon as he answered the phone.

"So you're still alive, huh? I heard Jude was after you." Max's deep voice said over the phone.

She chuckled before saying,"Yes I'm still alive... for now anyway."

"What can I help you with, baby doll?"

"Katherine"

Max sighed,"What has she done now?"

"So far nothing and I want to keep it that way. Can you track her down for me? Word around town is she's back in the falls." She left out the fact she was also in Mystic Falls. She didn't want to risk getting one of her oldest friends in trouble by revealing where she was. She knew Jude would try to question him.

"Find out where exactly she is, I want to talk to her." She added.

"I'll do what I can."

"Thank you, Max." She said, smiling.

"No problem, and hey, keep doing what you're doing. Jude has no idea where you are."

"That's good to know." Francesca said, hanging up the phone.

"Don't you think you have enough to worry about?" Damon questioned from behind her.

She quickly spun around with a gasp. "Don't scare me like that, you big jerk!"

"Who was that?" He asked her, nodding toward the phone and hoping he didn't sound jealous.

"Just an acquaintance." She answered with a shrug.

"Why do you want to talk to Katherine?"

"None of your business."

"It's not your fault, you know?" He said quietly, knowing what was going through her mind.

"What?" She asked, confused.

"That Stefan and I were turned." He said. "It's not your fault."

"Yes it is." She argued. "If I never would have left, Katherine would not have gotten her claws into you two."

"Is that the only reason you regret leaving?" He questioned as he walked closer to her, hoping she would open up to him.

"Damon, don't." She whispered, not wanting to take a stroll down memory lane.

"Don't what?" he whispered back, playing dumb.

"Don't bring up the past. There is no point in going back there."

"Do you regret leaving me?" He asked, ignoring her comment. He stood in front of her, looking her straight in the eyes and waited to see if she would answer the question that always plagued him.

Without a word, she tried to walk around him, but he grabbed her, forcing her to stand in front of him. "Damn it, Ces, quit running and answer the damn question. Do you regret leaving me?"

"I can't." She whispered.

"Come on, Ces, you owe me this much." He pushed. "I deserve a straight answer from you."

"I can't." She said again, saying each word slowly.

"Can't or won't?"

"Won't." She stated as she jerked her arm out of his hand and walked out of the kitchen.

"You know, you haven't changed at all, Ces." He yelled out after her. All he got back in return was the slamming of the front door.

•••

After slamming the door, Francesca ran to her car and climbed behind the wheel. She needed to get away from Damon, the sooner the better.

She turned the radio up as she pressed her foot down harder on the gas pedal. She rolled her window down and rested her arm on the door, nothing could clear her mind more than driving fast with the window down and the music up.

"Well that and sex." She thought to herself with a smile.

When she made it to town, she slowed down and pulled into the parking lot of The Mystic Grill. She ran her hands through her wind-blown hair as she opened the door of the restaurant and walked in.

Everyone inside glanced at the door to see who the newcomer was then quickly turned back around, expect for a few males, who did a double take.

She smiled at the attention and walked across the floor to the bar, she slowly moved her hips from side to side as she walked, giving the guys something to look at. She sat down on a bar stool and smiled at the female bartender.

"Can I help you?" The bartender asked.

"Give me a scotch on the rocks." Francesca said.

"Rough day?" The bartender asked as she filled a glass with ice and scotch before handing the glass to Francesca.

Francesca gave her a short laugh,"More like a rough life."

"I hear ya." The bartender said with a laugh as she poured herself a shot.

Francesca held her glass up,"Well here's to having a sucky life."

"I'll drink to that." The bartender said as she clinked her glass with Francesca.

They both brought the glass to their lips and drank the liquor in one swallow.

Francesca sat her empty glass on the counter before saying,"Hit me again."

"Coming right up." She said, filling Francesca glass with scotch again.

Further down the bar a customer called for the bartender, she held up a finger before turning back to Francesca.

"Well I hope things get better for you." She said sincerely.

Francesca gave a nod in thanks before glancing around the restaurant as she drank the scotch in one swallow. She smiled when she saw a cute, young guy with dark hair sitting alone.

She looked back at the bartender before saying,"I have a feeling it's about to get better."

Francesca threw some money on the counter then walked over to the booth the guy was sitting at.

"Hey, mind if I join you?" She asked him.

He looked up from his food and smiled at her,"Sure, have a seat."

"Thanks." She said, sliding into the seat across from him.

"You new around here? I've never seen you before."

"Sorta, I'm staying with some old friends. My name is Francesca."

"Well, it's nice meeting you, Francesca. I'm Tyler Lockwood."

"Lockwood, huh? I'm sorry to hear about your dad."

"You heard about that?" He asked, surprised.

"Word travels fast in a small town." She said.

He nodded his head in agreement before changing the subject,"So you said you're staying with friends. Who are they, I might know them?"

"The Salvatore brothers."

"Stefan and Damon, right?"

"Yep, that's them. You know them?"

"I know Stefan a little, we go to school together. But, Damon I have only met a few times." He explained.

"So you're in school, huh?" She questioned as she leaned back and bit her bottom lip. Nothing was a better distraction than a young naïve school boy. "I'm surprised you don't have a girlfriend." She added with a flirty tone.

He shrugged,"I like to keep my options open."

She laughed,"Good plan. It's good to be single, you never know when you'll met someone."

"Yeah who knows, one day you could be sitting in booth eating and a beautiful girl sit across from you." He said with a wink.

"Very smooth, Lockwood." She said with a laugh, realizing she has him right where she wants him.

He chuckled at the comment. "So you got any plans today?"

"Yes I do."

"Oh." He said, feeling disappointed.

She leaned across the table, getting closer to him as she quietly said,"My plan is to take you into the bathroom and have a little fun."

"You serious?" He asked, surprised by how forward she was, something he liked.

"Very." She whispered with a flirty smile.

"What kind of fun did you have in mind?"

"Follow me and find out." She said vaguely as she stood up from the booth and began walking toward the back of the building.

Tyler quickly jumped up and followed her. She giggled as she grabbed his hand and pulled him into the girls bathroom. She locked the door then pushed him against the door and kissed him hard on the lips.

"I love a woman who gets right to the point." He said, laying his hands on her hips.

"Shh, don't talk." She whispered before pressing her lips against his again.

He wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her body closer to his as she ran her hands through his dark hair, pulling on it and making him groan.

With her fingers still in his hair, she pulled his head to the side, exposing his neck. She licked the side of his neck, tasting his skin, before pressing her lips against it and lightly nibbled.

She closed her eyes, listening to the blood rushing through her veins. She could even feel the vein in his neck pulsing as her lips were still pressed against his skin. Her mouth began to water, making her want to sink her teeth into his skin. She could already imagine how it would feel to have his warm blood sliding down her throat.

Suddenly, she felt her fangs coming out and without a second though, she sank her teeth deep into Tyler's neck.

•••

A/N; Bad Francesca, she should not be biting on people lol.

Many thanks to xoxobianca, sam riggs and David Fishwick for reviewing the last chapter. Also thanks to everyone reading and/or added the story.

Happy reading!
xx