Sorry I haven't updated in a while. I've been pretty busy. Thank you for the reviews everyone! To all of those in the United States, Happy Independence Day!
Last time-
The raven-haired man before him just smirked at his obvious fear and chuckled once before speaking. "Hello, brother."
The man sighed, hoping this wouldn't end in disaster. "Damon."
Damon smirked. "The one and only."
His younger brother growled. "What are doing here?"
Damon scoffed. "Last time I checked I live here." He walked over to his brother. "Besides, I have a surprise for you. Come with me to see what it is."
With that, he walked out of the room and ran downstairs to the front door. He opened it and walked out to his car with a smirk on his face. He stood in front of the passenger side door until his brother came out. He looked very annoyed, which only made Damon's smirk become more pronounced.
"Okay, I'm out here. What's the surprise?" He walked over until he was almost in front of Damon.
Damon stepped aside, opened the car door, and held out his hand. A thin, small, tan hand took his and a teenager stepped out of the car. His brother dropped his jaw in shock. Damon smiled.
"Stefan, this is Anne Merrick. Anne, this is Stefan Salvatore. He's my younger brother." Stefan and Buffy shook hands.
"Are you a vampire too?" Buffy never mastered the art of not being blunt, or secretive.
Stefan stood there even more shocked while Damon started laughing.
Buffy stood just inside the foyer, amazed by the size of the living room inside. Damon gave her a quick tour of the house, leaving her bags in one of the guest rooms. They ended their tour with Damon pointing out the kitchen. They went back into the living room where there was another man waiting. Damon rolled his eyes.
"Hello, Damon," the man said while looking at the vampire.
"Zach." Damon forced a smile to his face in reply. "I would like to introduce you to Anne Merrick. She'll be staying with us for a while." He turned to Buffy. "Anne, this is Zach Salvatore. He's our nephew and housekeeper."
Zach didn't know which to be shocked at more: the girl staying here, Damon taking an interest in anyone, or that he told the girl that he was their nephew. Zach put a smile on his face though and stood up before walking over to her. "Hello, Anne. Welcome to the Salvatore Boarding House. If you need anything, please let me know."
She smiled a bright smile in return. "Thank you." They shook hands before Damon interrupted.
"Anne, how would you like to see some of the town?"
She lit up. "I would love to."
Damon nodded. "Okay. I'll go get your pocket book for you."
She smiled. "Thank you."
He sped out of the room. While he was gone, Zach wanted to warn Buffy about him.
"Anne, I just want to give you a heads up. Damon isn't exactly the nicest… person around." He reached in his pocket and pulled a small vial filled with a clear liquid before putting it in her hand. "Here, take this. It's called Vervain. It'll protect you."
Buffy smiled. "It's alright. I'll be perfectly fine. I already have some of that in my necklace apparently. I take it you know what he is then?"
He became even more shocked. "Yes. You know what he is too?"
She giggled slightly. "Of course I do. I can tell any vampire right away."
Zach just stood there, mouth agape, as they heard footsteps coming in. They turned to see Damon, smirking. He handed Buffy her pocket book before looking at Zach.
"Next time you try to warn someone about me being a vampire, make sure to say it where I can't hear you." With that, he grabbed Zach's hand and pulled the vial of Vervain out before breaking one of his fingers. He turned around to take Buffy's hand and lead her out to the car.
Mystic Grill-
Damon led Buffy inside, where there were pool tables on an elevated platform, a bar on the far side of the room, and tables and booths scattered about. The pair had gone around the town, looking at different places. The Founder's Hall was an interesting trip. He had shown her where he and Stefan had signed the guest list for the first Founder's Ball, where Miss Mystic Falls is crowned. She had laughed at the town's obliviousness. They sat down in a booth before picking up a menu. The waitress came and took their orders; after she left, they put the menus back and started talking.
"So, after we finish here, I was thinking about taking you down to the quarry to show you the falls. Maybe after that, where the old Salvatore house was. How does that sound?"
She smiled. "You mean there's actually a waterfall here?"
He laughed until she saw her confused look. He then realized that she was entirely serious. "Of course there is. That's how the town got its name. They had a tendency to name the towns and cities after what landmarks and natural features back in the olden days. Mystic Falls is no exception."
They looked over as their drinks came. Buffy had a sweet tea, and Damon had his favorite, Bourbon. She just rolled his eyes, and knew she had to comment.
"Do I have to worry about you getting drunk?" She asked with as much seriousness as she could manage. Inside she was laughing because she already knew the answer.
His glass was almost to his mouth as she asked this. He became confused. "What? No. You were there when I was drinking a lot more than this, and it didn't even bother me." Realization dawned over his face then. "But you remember that don't you?"
She couldn't hold it in anymore and just started laughing, which got him laughing. Once they were calmed down, Damon took a sip of the amber-colored liquid he loved before turning back to the girl in front of him. "So, I was thinking that since it is so close to the summer, that it would be kind of pointless to put you in school now. So, as long as you are still here in the fall, you can start back then. Sound good?"
Buffy nodded her head. "Yeah, but how do we know that they'll accept me after what happened at my last school?"
Damon smirked. "I'll take care of that. You just worry about whatever it is that teenage girls worry about."
Buffy smiled. "Thank you, for everything."
Damon smiled softly. "You're welcome."
Just then, a thirty to forty year old woman with short blonde hair and a sheriff's uniform on came over to the table. "Hello. I'm Sheriff Forbes. Welcome to Mystic Falls." She held out her hand to each, both shaking her hand with a smile.
"Hello, Sheriff. I'm Damon Salvatore, this is Anne Merrick. We're new to town." He smiled charmingly at her.
She looked at him questioningly. "Salvatore, as in the Founding Family?"
He smiled. "Yes, I was born here, grew up for a while here, then we left while I was still young. I decided to come back and discover more about where I'm from."
She smiled. "That sounds nice. Good luck!"
"Thank you." He still had his charming smile on.
"May I ask how you know each other?" She was kind of curious.
Damon's smile did not waver, nor did his voice. "She's a friend of mine. She's on summer vacation and decided to come with me and help."
The Sheriff turned to Buffy. "That's nice of you to help your friend. May I ask though about where you go to school that you are already on summer vacation? It seems kind of early."
Buffy was panicking on the inside. She got nervous. "I'm from Los Angeles. We get out in mid-to-late May there."
Just then, the Sheriff's cell phone buzzed. "Sorry, excuse me a moment." She turned around and answered. "Hello?" She listened for a moment. Damon was listening too.
"Liz, we have another one. Just found this afternoon by the spot all the kids hold the party up towards the ruins of Fell's Church. It looks like another vampire attack."
"Alright I'm on my way." She hung up and turned around. "I'm sorry, but I have to go. I'll see you around probably. Welcome back to Mystic Falls, Mr. Salvatore." With that she walked off and out of the grill.
Damon looked at Buffy. "You know, Anne, you aren't very good under pressure."
Buffy rolled her eyes. "Well, I'm a juvenile delinquent who has run away from home. She's the Sheriff of a small town. She's probably going to run my name on the computer when she gets to her car or office."
Damon was impressed. "Maybe, but you still suck under pressure."
She sighed and rolled her eyes. Their food came just then. They ate and made small talk. Afterwards, Damon paid the bill and the walked out the door. On the way out, they ran into a group of teenagers walking in. One was darker skinned, had dark hair and eyes; another had blonde hair, was fair skinned, and blue eyes; the last had dark hair, dark eyes, an olive skin tone, and sent Damon into the past.
He couldn't stop staring. She looked exactly like her. He had met her once before, but he was still in awe. No one knew what he was really here for, and it wasn't only because he needed help with a teenager.
Buffy pulled his arm to get his attention. "Damon?"
He snapped out of it. "Yeah?"
"You okay?" She looked concerned.
"I'm fine. I think I just saw my brother's girlfriend. Boy does he have explaining to do."
With that, he led her to the car and took her to see the falls.
Buffy had seen the falls, seen the old Salvatore mansion ruins, and she and Damon were now on the way back to the Salvatore boarding house.
Damon looked over at her. "Did you have a good day today?"
Buffy looked back and smiled. "I did. Thank you."
He smiled back. "Don't mention it. It was kind of fun showing someone around. Just don't tell anyone I ever said that." He winked at her conspiratorially.
She giggled. "I promise."
They pulled into the driveway and then went inside. They found something to eat, had a nice dinner with Stefan and Zach, and then Buffy went to her room. She was doing Tai Chi to calm herself for the night when Zach walked in. Considering her bedroom was very near Damon's room, he was taking a very big risk.
She looked over at him. "Yes?"
He looked nervous, though he had good reason. She assumed, and could slightly feel both vampires listening in to the conversation, ready to intervene as needed. "I'm sorry about before. I just assumed you didn't know what Damon is or what he is like."
She rolled her eyes. "It's okay. You were just being cautious. He isn't as bad as you think. Not all vampires are entirely evil. Believe me, I know the difference. His breed of vampires have their souls. The kind I'm used to fighting lose their souls when they're turned."
He got closer to her. "Damon is a bad person. You haven't known him long."
She got right in his face. "You have? I'm pretty sure I know him better than you right now. Besides, if he's always mean to you, don't you think there might be a good reason? I mean, you are getting a little annoying."
She heard Damon's laughter through the walls and on the other side of the house, she could hear Stefan's chuckling mixed in with a sigh before muttering something about being compelled to not like him. Buffy rolled her eyes. She would talk to Stefan about that later. Looking back at Zach's shocked expression, she had to admit though that she didn't really know Damon well. They had only met a few days ago.
She turned around to grab the clothes she sat out for a shower; she felt a needle go in her neck before sending her elbow backwards, which connected to his jaw. She turned around and grabbed his arm before twisting it around behind his back where she whispered dangerously in his ear. "What did you just give me?"
By now, both Damon and Stefan were in her room and looking at the Slayer holding the human in a dangerous position. Stefan looked worried while Damon looked like he was trying to hold back laughing while smirking. Zach was scared in this position, so he told the truth. "Vervain."
Damon came forward at vampire speed, picking up their nephew by the neck. "Why did you give her Vervain?"
Zach choked out, "To keep her safe from you."
Stefan said, "Damon put him down."
Buffy looked over to Stefan incredulously. "Seriously? You're taking his side?"
Stefan looked at Buffy. "He's human. If Damon isn't careful, then he might hurt him, or worse, kill him."
Buffy walked over to Stefan predatorily. "He could have had something else in that syringe. What if it was something that could kill me? I've never ingested Vervain. How do we know what it will do to me? I mean, the Slayer isn't entirely human."
Damon smirked. He started speaking to his nephew, looking him in the eyes. "Zach, if you ever come near her again, I will rip your heart out. Understand?" Zach sighed, but nodded yes anyway. "Good." Damon let him down. Zach gasped for air before nearly running out of the room. Stefan glared at Damon, who glared back, before running after Zach.
Damon turned to Buffy, smirking. "Nice moves." He became serious. "Are you alright?"
Buffy was confused. "I'm not sure."
Damon was now the one confused. "What do you mean you're not sure?"
She looked at Damon scared. "Should it feel like it's burning me?"
Damon's eyes widened. "It feels like it's burning you?"
Buffy nodded before she got really dizzy and started falling to the ground. Damon got over to her in time to catch her. He lifted her up and laid her on the bed. What did he do now?