162 Candles

I woke up the next morning and jumped into the shower. I thought about the night before as I stood under the stream of hot water. I remembered seeing Vicky, and that she had told me that she was leaving town. Why was she leaving? Then Damon was there. Why was Damon there? He had helped me to bed. Why? I furrowed my brows at the unanswered questions that were reeling around in my head.

I quickly finished my shower, wrapped a towel around my soaking wet hair, and another around my body before walking back into my bedroom. I raised my eyebrows as I saw Damon lying on my bed, a smirk plastered across his face as he saw the towels wrapped around me.

"Yes?" I asked.

"Well, hello." His smirk never faltered as he stood up. "I thought the Sandy costume looked good on you last night, but I think nothing would look better." He wiggled his eyebrows. I smirked back and shook my head as I grabbed a matching set of black lacy underwear and bra. I walked back into the bathroom and shut the door.

"What is it you want, Damon?" I called through the door as I quickly changed and shed my towels.

"Well, opening the door would be a start." I rolled my eyes, but opened the door and walked back out, now in the bra and underwear. His smirk grew as his eyes roamed over my body as I went to my closet. I began rifling through shirts and I felt Damon wrap his arms around my waist and press his chest against my back.

"Yes?" I asked again. "What do you need?" I continued looking through my shirts.

"Well…" He began and I felt his lips press against my neck. I grinned evilly as a thought came into my brain as I remembered all my unanswered questions and realized what must have happened.

I turned around and placed a hand on his chest. I looked up at him from under my eyelashes and pushed him backwards until he fell back onto my bed. I pulled my damp hair to one side as I crawled on top of him and straddled his waist.

I could sense his shock and confusion, but he covered it on the outside with his player smirk. I leaned down until he and I were only inches apart. I could feel his warm breath on my face.

"On one condition." I whispered, just barely brushing my lips against his.

"Anything." He breathed, his eyes closed.

"Compel me to remember what actually happened last night." I whispered into his ear. I watched as his eyes flew open, then the next thing I knew, he had flipped us over so he was on top of me.

"How did you know I had compelled you?" He asked, obviously surprised.

"I didn't." I replied honestly. "But I knew that I had a lot of unanswered questions about last night. Like why you brought me home, why I don't remember exactly what Vicky said or where she told me she was leaving." His face was unreadable as I explained my reasoning. Damon was silent when I finished, his eyes watching my face.

He sighed and climbed off of me, letting me sit up. I watched him curiously, wondering what he was thinking. I could sense his mix of emotions, but couldn't pick out just one.

"Elena asked me to do it." He finally replied. "You and Jeremy were so upset, and you told me that the pain made you want to start cutting again." I looked down and my fingers skimmed over the scars on my arms. Damon watched my fingers before gently reaching out and feeling the scars as well.

"When my parents died, the pain was unbearable. Jeremy and I got closer because of our similarities in coping. We both turned to drugs, and when they couldn't shut out the pain, I would cut my wrist, letting the physical pain override the emotional pain." I quietly explained. "But it was all worse for me." Damon looked at me curiously.

"Because it was your fault?" He asked softly. I nodded.

"You remember me telling you that?"

"It was at the party at the Lockwood's." He replied. "You were drinking. A lot." I chuckled.

"I was. I hate those parties." I sighed. "But yes, it's my fault that my parents are dead."

"How?" He asked. I looked up at him, watching his crystal blue eyes.

"It was at one of the end of school parties." I began. "I convinced Elena to skip family night with me to go to the party. I got completely wasted and Elena called our parents to come and get us early. Dad was turned around yelling at me for getting drunk when the car swerved and went off Wickery Bridge." I choked back the tears that were threatening to fall again.

"When I woke up three days later, the doctors told me that my parents were dead. The first thing I did was try to pull out every tube that they had stuck in my body. The air tubes, the IV, everything, to try and kill myself as well. They sedated me again after that. I had gotten a concussion and only had a few scrapes, but they kept me in the hospital for two weeks. I was brought to the funeral in a wheelchair, two doctors behind me in case I tried to commit suicide again." I was crying now, speaking in between sobs.

"Hey, hey, you don't have to go on." Damon placed a hand on my back. I looked up at him.

"I know. But I need to." He nodded, and let me continue. "Over the next few weeks, I broke up with Tyler, only to become friends with benefits. I started using drugs and cutting to try and take away the pain. None of it helped, but I kept using anyway. And here I am now, with no future and no hope for anything."

"You're not useless. You have so much ahead of you; you have time to figure it out." Damon replied, turning me to face him, his hands on my shoulders. I nodded and sniffed, trying to stop crying. Damon scanned my face before pulling me into a hug. I leaned against him, grateful for the company and for the fact that he had let me open up to him. He seemed to be the only one that actually listened to me.

"Thank you, Damon." I said quietly when I finally stopped crying.

"For what?" He pulled back to look at me.

"For listening. Nobody really ever listened like you just did for me, and I appreciate it. So thanks." I smiled up at him. His eyes caught mine and I watched as his eyes dilated.

"Remember." He whispered, and all of a sudden, everything that had happened last night came flooding back into my memory. Vicky biting me, Stefan killing her, me throwing Elena backwards and Damon saying I was different, healing me and bringing me home. I let out a small gasp as everything flooded back, but I kept myself from crying again. I sat there for a few minutes, sorting through my memories before I looked back up at Damon.

"Thank you." I smiled up at him. He nodded, and stood up at leave.

"Damon," He stopped and looked at me. "You came here for more than to listen to me. Here." I pulled my hair away from my neck.

"No. I shouldn't." He said.

"It's alright, Damon. You've been a friend to me, and I want to help you now. Drink." Damon looked at me, and I could sense that he was still confused as to why I was being nice to him. He sat down next to me and I watched as his face vamped out. I cringed as I felt the initial sting of his bite, but then it felt good and I closed my eyes, just feeling him drinking.

After a minute, he pulled back, licked the blood from the bite mark, then bit into his own wrist. I took his wrist and drank a bit, feeling my neck heal up.

"Thank you." He whispered to me. I smiled up at him and nodded.

"It's what friends do. We help each other out." I smiled and he smiled back. Not a smirk, but a genuine smile.

"Friends?" His face turned to one of skepticism.

"Yeah, you and me." I replied. "I know you have trust issues, Damon. I mean, who doesn't? But I promise, I will not hurt you as long as you don't hurt me." He smiled again and nodded. He glanced at the door, before disappearing out the window. I walked over to my closet again and began pulling out clothes as someone knocked on the door.

"Come in." I called out, slipping on a little black dress that was tight on top but had a loose flowy skirt that came to mid-thigh. I pulled on a jean jacket over top then closed the door to see Elena standing there.

"Who were you talking to?" She asked, arms crossed.

"What are you, my mother?" I snapped, my good mood instantly turning bad. I watched her face flicker through emotions, from shock to hurt to anger.

"Was Damon here? Did he hurt you?"

"Yes, he was here, but he didn't hurt me. Not like you did." I growled, feeling my anger gathering in my chest again. "He gave me my memories back. Don't you dare make that choice for me again." My vision turned red and I felt a wind whipping through the room. Elena shrieked as a book went flying over her head.

"I was just trying to protect you." She whimpered.

"Well, don't Elena. It wasn't your choice to make. You hurt me more by taking the memories away." I snarled. "Now get out." My lamp flew and shattered against the wall just over her shoulder. She squealed and ran out the door, slamming it behind her. Then there was a set of hands holding my face and I was looking into a set of bright blue eyes.

"Hey, hey, calm down. Take a deep breath." I kept my eyes focused on him and took a deep breath. My vision returned to normal and the wind slowly died down. I glanced around my room to see it in complete disarray.

"Well, this is going to be fun to explain. I doubt you feel like using your speed to pick it all up for me?" Damon laughed and I smiled.

"I better go, Jenna is going to come ask you to go to the Sheriff's station." He smirked before disappearing out the window again. I chuckled before observing my room. I began cleaning up a bit as Jenna walked into my room.

"What happened in here?" She asked, looking around.

"I got mad at Elena and kinda exploded." I cringed, looking up at Jenna.

"I can tell. Hurry up, the Sheriff wants to talk with you about Vicky's disappearance." Jenna said before walking out the door.

-VD:AG-

I went to the Sheriff's station and told her what Elena and Stefan wanted me to. When we got back to the house I decided to relieve some stress and play on Jeremy's Xbox. I sat on one end of the couch and Elena sat on the other. I could sense her looking over at me every once in a while, but I ignored her.

Jenna plopped down in between us.

"You're wallowing." She said to Elena.

"So are you." Elena pointed out.

"My wallow is legitimate. I was dumped."

"Yeah, well, Logan's a jerk." Elena sighed, playing with the blanket she had spread over her.

"You didn't get a brush-off email saying, "I'm leaving town. See ya."" Jenna replied.

"Wanna keep it down over there." Jeremy called from the kitchen table.

"Why, what are you doing?" Jenna asked turning around.

"Homework." Jeremy replied bluntly. I paused my game and Elena and I turned around as well.

"Since when do you do homework?" Elena asked.

"I gotta finish this. I'm way behind and I have a quiz tomorrow, so…"

"What do you think? Alien?" Elena asked.

"Some sort of replicant."

"Nope, it's one of those slugs from Animorphs that crawl into your brain and control your body." I replied. Elena and Jenna looked at me curiously.

"He can hear you." Jeremy pointed out.

-VD:AG-

The next day, I woke up to my covers being pulled roughly off of my bed. I squealed, blindly scrambling for my covers. Not finding them, I curled up in a ball and pulled my pillow over my head.

"Time to get up, Blondie." I heard Damon's voice, and I groaned.

"Whyyyy?" I whined.

"Because I need you to help Caroline plan a party."

"She is the best party planner in the world. She doesn't need help."

"Then I need you to help me convince Stefan and his BFF come."

"You are the ultimate silver-tongued devil. You don't need me."

"Well, then maybe I just want my only friend to come help me."

"You are pathetic." I moaned, pulling my head out from under my pillow to look up at him. He smirked.

"But you still like me." He grinned as his eyes roamed over my body. I then realized I was only in a pair of shorty shorts and a sports bra. I groaned, rolled onto my stomach and hid my head under the pillow again, only to uncover it again when I felt Damon lay down on my bed next to me. He had his legs crossed and his arms behind his head. He turned his head and smirked at me.

"Are you just going to stay here until I get up?" I asked, glaring at him.

"Yep." He popped the 'p' at the end.

"I hate you." I groaned. I sat up as he chuckled and pulled my covers back onto the bed. I sighed as the warmth of my covers returned.

"Five more minutes." I mumbled, resting my head on Damon's chest before falling asleep again.

Damon's POV

I looked down at the girl sleeping on my chest, amazed. She was something else. She didn't hate me, wasn't scared of me. She didn't care that I was using her as a blood bag or to get what I wanted.

She had such a fire to her. She wasn't afraid to say what she needed to, and didn't care what others thought of her. But she was also caring at the same time. She was driving me crazy.

I ran my hand over her hair, curious as to why she stuck with me. Why she didn't hate me. I hate me. She confused me, but made me wonder about her all the same. I thought back to her manipulator temper tantrum she'd had the other day. I remembered being slightly scared watching her red eyes lock onto me as she threw stuff around the room with the wind. She'd been beautiful.

It still didn't explain why she didn't hate me. I mean, I'd bitten her numerous times, almost thrown her off a building, used her to threaten my brother; what was it that kept her from hating me?

I remembered her telling me about her car accident. Did she trust me? I wouldn't trust me. I know I'm just going to hurt her again.

Well, there would be more time to think over this later. Her five minutes were up.

Ashlee's POV

I woke up to my body begin shoved onto the floor. I was on my feet again, wide awake and scrambling back into bed within seconds of being shoved off.

"Nice reaction time." I glared at Damon as he chuckled at me. "Your five minutes are up. Now unless you want to get shoved out of bed again, up. We need to go."

"I hate you." I glared as I got up and walked into my closet.

"You love me." I heard Damon call from my bed.

"Nope."

"Yep."

"Nope."

"Yep."

"Nope, I hate you." I said, coming back out, now wearing ripped black skinny jeans, black heeled ankle boots and a dark red camisole. I picked up my cropped black leather jacket from my desk chair and looked at him, my eyebrows raised. "We going?" I asked, and he smirked.

-VD:AG-

We took his car back to the boarding house. I followed him inside to see Stefan and a blonde girl talking in the living room.

"Funny you should ask." Damon spoke as we walked in. He must have used his vampire hearing to listen in before we got to the room.

"Well, I wasn't asking you." The blonde said, and I looked at her.

"Lexi?" I cocked my head to one side.

"Hey there Ashlee." She smirked. "Nice to see you sober." I grinned and wiggled my eyebrows as Damon reverted to their previous conversation.

"There's a party, at the Grill. You'll love it. Banquets, tacky wait staff, all of Stefan's friends." Damon smirked as he stood behind Lexi's chair. I took a seat and stretched my legs out on the couch.

"I don't want a birthday party. And what are you doing with Ashlee?"

"It's not for you, it's a party party. No one is gonna know it's your birthday. Caroline is throwing it. And Ashlee is here to help me."

"Don't worry, it's not like I'm right here or anything." I smirked up at the brother vampires as they talked about me.

"Damon, stay away from Caroline. And leave Ashlee alone too."

"We're just friends, it's cool. It's important for the town to see us out and about like normal folk. We need to blend." Damon stressed to Stefan. I watched him glance down at the blood bags on the table in front of Lexi. "Ugh, I prefer mine at 98.6." Damon said as he turned to walk out. I stood up to follow him, but Stefan grabbed my arm.

"Why are you hanging out with him? He's just going to hurt you." Stefan hissed.

"He's right." Lexi agreed. "He'll use you."

"I'm giving him the benefit of the doubt. Until he really hurts me, I'm going to be his friend. He needs one since you two don't get along, and my best friend just died. Thank you for that, Stefan." I snapped sarcastically, yanking my arm back from Stefan.

"Damon is the one that turned her in the first place!"

"And you wouldn't let her do anything. Not everyone can live off the Stefan diet. You smothered her, and Vicky wasn't one to be told what to do."

"Can you let her go please?" Damon poked his head back in. "I'm not going to hurt her."

I gave a quick glare to Stefan before walking out the door past Damon.

"They really don't like me hanging out with you." I said as we walked up the stairs to what I assumed would be his room.

"Stefan has never liked anything I've done." Damon replied. "That's why it's so much fun to bug him." He smirked back at me as he opened a door for me and I walked into a huge bedroom.

The bed had a huge fluffy black comforter, and big pillows. The curtains were black out curtains, but they were pulled back right now to let in the sun light. The hard wood floor was polished so it shone and the walls were a flat tan color, making the room look really nice. He had a big flat screen TV hanging on the wall. I wandered into the bathroom to see a glass shower, a claw foot tub and a huge mirror over the sink.

"Is this your room?" I asked, looking back at him.

"Yep."

"I want to know your interior designer. This is gorgeous." I gaped.

"Well, if they were alive, I'd introduce you." Damon smirked.

"Did you drain them?" I scolded.

"Nah, he died of old age." Damon shrugged non-chalantly.

"Ah." I replied, still observing the Victorian look of his room. It really was gorgeous.

"Now, I need you."

"Why's that?" I asked.

"Like I told Stefan, the town needs to see us out and about. He and I need to blend. The Sheriff is on the hunt for vampires, so he and I need to seem like humans."

"So what do you need me for?" I asked as I wandered over and lay down on his bed. It was just as comfy as it looked.

"Well, if the Sheriff sees me, a vampire, hanging out with you, a human, she'll think I'm a human as well. It's all a part of my diabolical master plan." He wiggled his eyebrows as he wandered over to his closet and began rifling through shirts. I crossed my legs and put my arms behind my head like Damon had done in my room. Damn, was this comfy. I yawned and Damon poked his head out of his closet.

"No falling asleep again."

"But, but it's sooooo comfyyyyy…." I whined, pulling his covers back and burrowing into them.

"No!" Damon repeated.

"Just five minutes…" I yawned again, all nice and toasty warm.

"Ashlee…" Damon's voice took on a warning tone. I grinned. It was fun to bug him.

"Five minutes." I repeated, completely burying myself under the covers. I heard Damon sigh, then all of a sudden, he was by the bed, digging through the covers.

"No!" I squealed, giggling as I scampered further under the covers, fighting him.

"You know that I can easily find you right?"

"No you can't." I teased, speaking like a 5-year-old.

"Seriously? You're going to be like this?" He stopped, but I could still feel him sitting next to me on the bed. I reached out in my mind to sense what he was feeling. He was curious, wondering about me. I could sense apprehension and a little bit of annoyance. But what surprised me the most, was the sense of happiness that I could sense from him.

"I think I'm going to steal your bed." I told him, poking my head out from under the covers to look at him. He was smiling, but his eyes said that I was the most ridiculous person in the world.

"Or you could just stay here each night." He wiggled his eyebrows again.

"Then where would you sleep?" I asked innocently, even though I knew exactly what he meant.

"Here."

"But I'd be here."

"Here with you. You can wear as little as you'd like, or nothing if you'd prefer…" He smirked.

"Nope, that won't work. See, I have this disease that makes me hog the bed, so I can't share with anybody." I grinned.

"See, now why don't I believe that?" Damon rolled his eyes at me.

"I don't know." I shrugged.

"Alright, bed hog," Damon teased. "Get up, it's time to go to the party."

"Ugh, why are you so mean to me?" I groaned, but tossed the covers back and crawled out of bed all the same.

"I'm not mean, you just have this crazy obsession with beds." Damon sighed.

"Because they're warm and comfy." I pointed out.

"Down, party, go." Damon smacked my ass to get me to move back downstairs.

"Heeyyyy…" I held my butt as I jogged down the stairs. "Watch the merchandise."

I chuckled, knowing that Damon was rolling his eyes again.

-VD:AG-

Damon and I sat at the bar at the Grill that night. He had made me get a coke, saying he wasn't going to let me drink, but I convinced him to get a couple shots of rum and I dumped them into my drink. He glared at me and ordered a glass of whiskey.

"Oh come on, I'm an excellent drinking buddy." I smirked at him as he sipped his whiskey.

"Until you get plastered and you begin acting like a little kid. Which I guess isn't far from how you normally act." He shot back.

"Ouch." I feigned hurt. "That hurt." I smirked and he chuckled, before glancing over his shoulder. A minute later, Caroline came up to us.

"Amazing party right?" She chirped, grinning.

"Glad you thought of it." Damon replied, faking a smile.

"Well are you having a good time?" Caroline asked after thinking for a moment.

"Do you have my crystal?" Damon asked. I furrowed my eyebrows. Crystal? I had missed something.

"No."

"Then I'm not having a good time." He deadpanned, before getting up and walking away. I followed his line of sight and spotted Lexi walking in. Caroline glanced at me.

"Are you here with Damon?" She asked.

"Nope." I replied, drinking the rest of my rum and coke before getting up as well. I walked off, not wanting to be around Caroline. She drove me nuts.

I walked up to Lexi and she brushed past Damon's offer to buy her a drink.

"Dance with me?" I asked her and she grinned.

"Are you working with Damon?" She asked.

"I have no idea what he's up to. I'm just here to have a good time." I replied honestly.

"Good answer." Lexi replied and we linked arms, heading out onto the dance floor.

We danced for about twenty minutes before Stefan showed up and joined us.

"Hey there, birthday boy." I grinned.

"Hi Ashlee." Stefan smiled. Lexi and I danced around Stefan and he just smiled.

"I'm going to need a little more foot movement." Lexi told him as she danced.

"Yeah, I'm not really interested in making a fool of myself."

"Come on!" Lexi laughed. "You're not that bad."

"Come on, Stefan!" I encouraged him. "Stop brooding for one night."

"Do me a favor, just tell me if you see Damon with his camera phone." Stefan smiled at Lexi.

Lexi and I cheered and pulled him further into the crowd to dance.

After a few more songs, I left Stefan and Lexi to head back to the bar, while they went to one of the empty pool tables for a game. As I was walking, I spotted Elena walking into the Grill. I quickly darted in the other direction, not wanting to deal with my over-protective sister. I wandered into the bathroom and put my hands into the pockets of my jacket. My eyes widened when I felt a small plastic bag and a few pieces of paper in one of the pockets. I grinned, pulling out the dime bag and quickly rolled a joint on the counter. I found a lighter in my other pocket and lit up.

Fifteen minutes later, I was high and very happy. I put out my joint when it died down so I couldn't hold it anymore and flushed the end down the toilet. I wandered out of the bathroom and over to the bar. I spotted Lexi wandering away from Elena and back over to her pool game with Stefan. I took a seat and the bartender came over to ask me what I'd like to drink.

Without thinking, I asked for a glass of whiskey, and he placed one in front of me a moment later, not bothering to ID me. I took a sip, smiling at the warm burn in my throat.

Damon appeared beside me a few minutes later.

"Looks like the bartender isn't ID-ing." Damon sighed and I grinned lazily at him as I ordered another glass.

"Nope." I popped the 'p' and took a sip out of my new glass.

"You smell like weed." Damon deadpanned.

"I wonder why." I smiled, watching him steal my whiskey.

"Alright, the shots are a bribe. I need you to answer a question." Lexi said as she came up to Damon and placed two shots on the table. I grinned at her.

"Hey Lex." She nodded to me before turning her attention back to Damon.

"What are you really doing in Mystic Falls?" She asked him.

"Have you tried the brittle? Wins awards."

"It's true." I agreed.

"Cut the crap." Lexi snapped as Damon drank one of the shots. I reached an arm around him to try and steal the other one, but he slapped my arm away. I glared at his back.

"Okay, I have a diabolical master plan." He told her.

"What is it?"

"If I told you, it wouldn't be very diabolical now would it?" He replied as she glared at him.

"New question. Why are you bringing Ashlee into this?"

"She's my friend. She offered to help me."

"Did you compel her?" Lexi growled.

"No compulsion needed. She offered on her own terms. Right, Ash?" Damon turned to look at me and I nodded.

"I offered." I agreed with him.

"Why would you do that?" Lexi asked me.

"Because he's been nice-ish to me." I shrugged.

"Damon? Nice?' Lexi sounded skeptical.

"Yeah." I said, turning my head to see the cops approaching us. The Sheriff stabbed a needle into Lexi's side and she gasped. Damon stood up.

"What are you doing?" He asked.

"Lexi?!" I shrieked, standing up as well.

"Thank you for the Vervain. Now if you'll excuse me." The Sheriff walked away, two deputies carrying Lexi in tow.

"Lexi!" I shrieked again, starting to go after her, but Damon held me back.

"Don't." He whispered the warning in my ear. I could see Stefan and Elena going after her, so I wrenched free of Damon's hold and bolted out the back door.

I watched as Lexi vamped out and threw the deputies to the side. The Sheriff began shooting her. I turned my head for a moment to see Stefan and Elena behind me. I looked back just in time to see Damon stake Lexi. I opened my mouth to scream, but Stefan clamped a hand over my mouth and pulled me to his chest. Elena was behind him, her hands over her mouth in shock. Tears slipped silently down my cheeks as I watched Lexi fall to the ground.

I slipped to the ground as Stefan let me go, knowing that I wouldn't make a sound. I pulled my legs to my chest and listened to Stefan and Elena walk away. I quietly cried for a few minutes before I sensed someone kneeling in front of me. I opened my eyes to see Damon standing there.

"You killed her." I hissed.

"I had to."

"No you didn't!" I yelled, feeling my rage building again.

"Hey, don't fly off the handle here." Damon cooed.

"I'll fly off the handle wherever I'd like, dammit!" I shrieked, my eyes turning red.

"Come on." Damon pulled me to my feet, and dragged me across the street. He shoved me into his car and gripped my face.

"Don't leave the car." He compelled me. "Don't make any noise." I glared at him, and sat in his car. He smirked and walked back into the Grill, leaving me alone.

That bastard! He was so dead when he got back.

Then a thought crossed my mind. He told me not to leave the car, but he never said I couldn't leave with the car. I grinned evilly and moved into the driver's seat. I reached underneath the steering wheel and felt for the wires that I needed. When I found them, I quickly hot-wired the car and put it into drive. I drove back to the boarding house and turned off the car. I crossed my arms and waited for Damon to come home.

A half hour later, I was lying in the back seat, dozing off when there was an angry knock on the driver's side window. I opened my eyes to see Damon glaring at me.

"Get out." He growled as he opened the driver's side door. I smirked at him before crawling out. He slammed the door and I leaned against it, arms crossed.

"What the hell are you doing?" He asked. I didn't say anything, but looked up at him pointedly. "You can speak, dammit." He growled.

"Payback. You killed Lexi!" I shouted.

"Because the town doesn't need to know that the vampires are me and Stefan!" He yelled back.

"Well, you didn't have to kill her to prove it!"

"Would you rather I turned you and then stake you?"

"Hell no, I'd kick your ass before you could stake me." I snorted.

"Yeah right, I'm older, and therefore, stronger and faster. You'd be dead before you could blink."

"Then turn me and let's see what happens." I challenged. He hesitated.

"I win." I smirked, and turned to walk into the boarding house.

"How do you win?" He asked, following me.

"You wouldn't even turn me." I chuckled.

"Only because I need you as a human." He replied.

"Oh yeah, okay." I scoffed. "What can I do as a human?" I turned and leaned against the door to the boarding house.

"Your manipulator powers. I need them."

"Oh really? For what?"

"My diabolical master plan." He wiggled his eyebrows.

"Your master plan can go to hell." I growled. "You killed Lexi."

"Why must we keep coming back to that?" He rolled his eyes.

"Because she was my friend! And you killed her too! Like you turned Vicky and got her killed!" I shouted, before taking a breath. "Us being friends only works as long as you stop killing my friends." I told him.

"I make no guarantees. I'm a vampire."

"But only the bad parts." I replied.

"Mmmm, but I can show you how good I can be." He purred, his voice turning to velvet as he pressed me against the door.

"In your dreams, Salvatore." I scoffed.

"Nope, in your dreams, Gilbert." He smirked down at me.