09; Your Winter
"Where are we going?" Francesca asked Damon.
"You've been asking me that every five minutes." He said, driving her car down the road.
"Well if you would answer me, I wouldn't keep asking."
"Can't you just sit back and be patient?" He asked her.
"Damon, you know me better than that, you know I can't be patient." She said, laughing.
He laughed with her, realizing she was right. "You're right, how could I forget that."
"Hey, you remember that year you took me to the beach for my birthday?" She asked him.
"How could I forget? Never again will I make you wear a blindfold. You bugged the hell out of me the whole time."
"And I bit you when you wouldn't let me take the blindfold off." She added with a laugh.
"Trust me, I remember that." He said, remembering when she almost bit his finger off. "There will be no biting fingers tonight though and luckily we're not going far."
"So where are we going?" She asked with a smile.
"Don't start that again." He groaned.
"Just tell me Damon or there will be biting tonight." She playfully threatened.
"We're here, but maybe later we can get to the biting." He teased as he pulled her car into a parking lot.
She looked at the building, then looked at him confused. "You brought me to the grill?"
"Yeah, I figured we could have dinner together."
"Why didn't you just say that then? Why all the secrecy?" She asked.
He shrugged,"I wanted it to be a surprise."
"Well thank you, I love it." She said with a smile. "Now let's go eat, I'm starving."
They got out of the car and walked into the Mystic Grill. When they walked in, Francesca took off her black leather jacket, revealing a dark purple silk tank top. Damon smiled at her as he placed his hand on the small of her back and led her toward the back of the building.
"Let's go to the back, so we can have some privacy." He suggested.
"Okay." She said. She didn't know there were tables in the back, she thought it was an empty room that people could rent out for parties.
Damon looked at her and smiled before sliding open the door, she took a step in the room and gasped when everyone yelled out 'surprise'.
She looked over at Damon in shock, seeing him laugh at loud at the look on her face.
"I finally got you, I finally surprised you." He said with another laugh.
Years ago, she had surprised Damon with a party and he always swore he would get her back but never could, until now.
"I will get you back." She threatened him as she pointed a finger at him.
"Looking forward to it." He said, pushing her into the room.
Stefan and Elena were the first ones to walk over to her. They each gave her a hug and wished her a happy birthday.
"Thank you." Francesca said, smiling.
"Come on, I'll introduce you to my friends." Elena said, grabbing Francesca's hand and dragging her away from the guys.
"This is Bonnie and Caroline." Elena said while pointing to her friends.
"Oh the witch and new vamp. Nice to meet you too." Francesca said, realizing who they were from all the things Elena had told her about them.
"Nice to meet you." They said at the same time.
"Thank you two for coming."
"No problem, any chance to have a party." Caroline said smiling.
"Well I do love a good party." Francesca said.
"We've got food, dancing and Damon even got you your favorite cake." Elena said to her.
"Red velvet cupcakes?" She asked her.
"Yep." Elena said.
Francesca smiled, she couldn't believe Damon went to all of this trouble just for her. That is the type of thing you do for someone you love, but she still couldn't forget the things Katherine said.
"Oh, Ces, this is my brother Jeremy." Elena said, grabbing his arm as he walked by.
"Hey, Jeremy." Francesca said.
"Hey, happy birthday." Jeremy said to her.
"Thanks, you wanna dance?" She asked him as a new pop song began to play, making her want to get out on the dance floor.
"Uh, no, I don't dance." Jeremy said.
"Sure, you do." She argued as she grabbed his hand and pulled him toward the dance floor anyways.
Stefan walked behind Elena, watching the two dance for a moment, before saying,"She's making your brother dance?"
"Yeah, should I be worried that she's going to corrupt him?" Elena asked half-joking as she turned around to face him.
"Yep." Stefan said with a laugh as he walked off. Elena glanced at her brother and Francesca for a moment before running off to catch up with Stefan.
Damon stood off to the side and watched Francesca as she danced with Jeremy. He didn't know why it bothered him so much that she was dancing with him, but it did. He was about to go crazy with jealousy, until, luckily the song ended and she walked off to the side where a table was set up filled with finger foods.
"You having fun molesting young kids?" Damon joked as he stood beside her.
She rolled her eyes as she popped a potato chip in her mouth. "I wasn't."
"That's what it looked like, and with you being so much older than him, that is called robbing the cradle, you know." He said sarcastically.
"Whatever, Damon." She mumbled as she went to walk off.
He grabbed her arm to stop her, before saying,"Dance with me."
She scoffed as she jerked her arm back and crossed her arms in front of her chest. "I don't think so."
"Why?"
"'Cause you're being a jerk."
He grabbed one of her hands and gave her his famous pout. "I'm sorry, I won't say anything else. Just dance with me."
"Okay." She whispered as he led her to the dance floor as a slow song began to play.
The grey ceiling on the earth
Well it's lasted for a while
Take my thoughts for what they're worth
I've been acting like a child
Your opinion, what is that?
It's just a different point of view.
Damon wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her close as she wrapped her arms around his neck and rested her head on his chest. He kissed the top of her head as they swayed slowly side to side.
What else, what else can I do?
I said I'm sorry, yeah, I'm sorry
I said I'm sorry, but what for?
If I hurt you then I hate myself
I don't want to hate myself,
don't want to hurt you
Why do you choose your pain if you only knew
How much I love you ,love you.
Damon rubbed his hands up and down her back as he lowered his head and lightly kissed her bare shoulder, causing goosebumps where his lips landed. She sighed and ran her hands through his hair. She felt like they were the only ones in the room as he held her close.
Well I won't be your winter
And I won't be anyone's excuse to cry
And we can be forgiven
And I will be here
He looked into her eyes and pushed a lock of hair behind her ear. He laid his hand on her cheek and lightly stroked it. He moved his hand over to her lip, lightly rubbing her bottom lip with his thumb before he leaned down and gently kissed her lips. She moved her head to the side, deepen the kiss and felt a tingle from head to toe as he lightly massaged her tongue with his.
Old picture on the shelf
It's been there for a while
A frozen image of ourselves
We were acting like a child
Innocence and in a trance
A dance that lasted for a while
Read my eyes just like a diary
Oh remember, please remember
Well I'm not a beggar, but whats more
If I hurt you then I hate myself
I don't want to hate myself, don't want to hurt you
Why do you choose that pain if you only knew
How much I love you.
Damon ended the kiss and looked into her eyes again. "I love you, Ces, I always have and I always will. Please stay with me." He whispered.
She looked at him with tears in her eyes. She really wanted to believe the words he was saying but she kept hearing Katherine's voice in her head telling her he never loved her.
"I... I can't do this. I'm sorry." She whispered as she ran off in the middle of the song.
Damon followed her and grabbed her arm before she could walk out the door. He turned her around to face him and said,"What the hell is going on with you? One minute you're hot, the next you're cold."
"Did you tell Katherine about the clearing in the woods?" She asked quietly.
"What? What the hell does that have to do with anything?"
"Did you tell her about the clearing in the woods?" She asked again, needing to know the truth.
"Yes, but I never took her there if that's the problem. That was our place."
She took a step back in shock, she couldn't believe Katherine was right. Without another word she pushed open the door and walked outside. She ran into the alley and leaned against the brick wall as she cried, she couldn't believe it, Damon never loved her.
"Why does he keep telling me he loves me then? Why does he keep messing with my head?" She thought to herself.
She took a deep breath and wiped the tears off of her cheeks before taking a few steps toward the front of the building. Before she could walk out of the alley, someone stepped out of the shadows and blocked her.
"Hello, Francesca." A male voice said.
"Jude." She said in surprise while taking a couple of steps back.
Jude rushed toward her and wrapped a hand around her neck before slamming her into the wall.
He leaned in close to her before saying,"So this is where you have been hiding."
•••
A/N; I have been looking forward to writing this chapter for a while. Recently when I heard that song I had the scene in my head of them dancing and the words to the song affecting them. I think the song is perfect for them.
Big thanks to sam riggs, David Fishwick and xoxobianca for reviewing the last chapter and thanks to everyone reading!
Happy reading!
xx
