CHAPTER 10

As I roll over and peek through my eyelids I become aware of three things simultaneously.

One- I'm not lying in my own bed. Again.

Two- the light hurts my eyes and my head starts throbbing even more than it did so far. It feels like it's being sliced into two by a rusty chainsaw so I bury myself further under the covers.

Yeah, drinking half a bottle of bourbon can do that to you.

I put my hands on my head and start rubbing my temples in order to relieve my head from the horrible hangover at least a little bit so my brain could start functioning normally as soon as possible.

And three- there is a warm body spooning me and soon the familiar smell hits my nostrils and I inhale it deeply welcoming the calming effect it has on me.

I feel his fingers slowly making their way in circles from the top of my head, through my hair down my arms and back. His touch is feather light and makes me almost forget the raging hangover I'm still sporting.

The current of his touch makes me shiver slightly and I feel him shifting behind me.

„Open your eyes, Isabella." Damon whispers in my ear not breaking the spell that his touch seems to have on me.

„Nooo.." I whine and bury my head into the crook of his arm. „Give me an hour, please." I beg unashamedly.

I feel him shifting again and suddenly the covers are being ripped from my body.

I quickly look up allowing the sunrays to hurt my eyes even more and see Damon standing smugly by the bed.

„God, you're annoying." I glare at his smiling face.

„It's already noon, doll. Go shower and change so I can show you something." He instructs and points to the small door on the other side of the tiny room we've slept in.

„Where are we?" I mumble and try to rub the sleep from my eyes with the palms of my hands but it doesn't do much against the burning of the freaking sun.

Damon notices my squinting and quickly pulls the curtains so I can open my eyes fully. „Somewhere in Seattle." He answers my question. „And the sun bothers you that much because of the hangover mixed with the blood. I'll get you some shades so you don't go blind during the ride." He adds and smiles apologetically.

„How long is the blood gonna be an issue for me anyways?" I ask since that's something that has been bothering me during the nights I couldn't fall asleep.

Damon frowns in concentration.

„Well, you basically drained me which means you drank at least five litres.." He muses aloud. „One glass of our blood stays in a person's system for 24 hours. Let's say a glass equals 2 dcl. That means you drank about 50dcl which puts us in a range of more or less.."

„25 days." I blurt out in shock.

„Yes." He confirms and I can see he is almost as shocked with the number as I am. Noone really thought of that the day I woke up in the Salvatore boarding house and with Victoria trailing so close behind me- me being full of vampire blood for almost a month is a very dangerous thing.

I decide to change the subject because worrying about things I don't have control over is not going to get me anywhere right now.

„What do you need to show me?" I ask him as I grab my backpack and make my way into the small bathroom.

„It's a surprise." Damon simply answers.

„Just a heads-up – I hate surprises." I warn him before I close the door behind me and start taking my clothes off.

And that's when I notice that he's changed me into one of his shirts while I was asleep. Again.

„Would you stop taking off my clothes while I'm unconscious? If you want to see the goods, all you have to do is ask, you know?" I yell through the door and hear him chuckling in the other room.

„I didn't hear you complaining last night." He informs me.

„Yeah, I think me being unconscious had something to do with that." I retort.

„Probably." He says and I can hear the smile in his voice.

„You're an asshole!" I tell him and step under the shower.

The water cascades down my body slowly making me shiver in pleasure as I feel it disentangling the knots in my muscles. I quickly grab my strawberry body wash and shampoo and massage it into my body and hair. I rinse myself off and step out of the cabin while wrapping myself in a big towel.

I put my underwear on and grab a pair of unfamiliar dark wash, expensive looking jeans and an unfamiliar plaid shirt. I put them on and realise that they're a perfect fit. And the jeans make my ass look freaking fabulous. I fish through the bag to grab my old black Converse, roll my sleeves and exit the bathroom with my hair still a little damp.

I see Damon standing by the small desk in front of the window sorting out some envelopes. I make a coughing sound and he turns around glancing at me appreciatively.

„Thank you for the clothes.." I tell him and turn around so he can see.

„I'm glad they fit. You look really good." He says and I blush furiously at the smirk he sends my way.

„Thanks." I mumble. „What is that?" I ask and glance at the envelopes on the desk.

„This-„ He points to the desk-„is your mail. I picked it up for you when I was at the supermarket buying the paint and drinks. A certain Mrs. Stanley was mentioning your absence and the bunch of letters waiting for you so I took the initiative to do it for you." He shrugs while I make my way towards him and look at the numerous letters containing either bills or advertisements.

„Thanks.." I tell him since I was so distracted when I was leaving the letter for Jake in the mailbox to actually get inside the post office and pick up my own mail.

„No problem." He says and hands me a large manila envelope with a smile on his face. „Congratulations." Damon tells me and plops on the bed.

I take the envelope from him and look at the sender.

DARTHMOUTH COLLEGE

Hanover-New Hampshire

I look at it with a quizzical expression. „What the hell?" I mumble and open the envelope to take the first paper out and read out loud:

Dear Miss Swan,

Greetings from Dartmouth! It is a great pleasure to contact you to share some very encouraging news.

We have reviewed your application for admission and think you are and outstanding prospect for Dartmouth. We are also very impressed by your academic accomplishments and intellectual potential.

The copies of financial transactions and other details are in the envelope.

We hope you will strongly consider joining our Class next fall!

Melanie Stryder

Dean of Admissions and Financial Aid

„I didn't apply for this.." I tell Damon and sit on the bed next to him while taking another paper out of the envelope. This one has all the information about payment details so I quickly read it with Damon peeking behind my shoulder.

Apparently, my scholarship has been paid in advance. Fully. All four years. All 253 128 American freaking dollars.

By the one and only- Edward Cullen.

„I can't fucking believe this!" I fume as I scan the rest of the papers and throw them on the floor.

„Care to elaborate?" Damon says and raises his eyebrow in question.

„It's nothing really.. I just can't wrap my mind around the fact that he, once again, dared to make a decision for me." I huff and plop back on the bed. „Can we discuss this later, please?" I ask Damon and he nods.

„How about we go grab some breakfast and get back on the road?" He suggests and puts his shoes and jacket on.

„Sounds good." I tell him and grab the rest of my things.

We go through the hallways by the reception where Damon pays for everything and returns the key. Next we make our way to the small diner by the motel where I order some blueberry muffins and a milkshake and Damon orders almost a half of their menu.

„How come you can eat?" I ask him as he puts food into his mouth at a lightning speed. „And sleep, too?"

„Obviously blood is the main component in my diet but I can eat human food as long as I have blood in my system which right now isn't a big amount so I'm stuffing until we make a stop at the hospital." He explains and I look at him with a bewildered expression but he doesn't pause long enough for me to question what he meant by 'stopping at the hospital'. „And we can sleep although it's not as necessary for us as it is for humans. My body can function normally for a long extent of time without it."

„Why the hospital?" I ask once he goes back to eating.

„Free blood supply." He shrugs. „Or would you rather watch me eating from the source?" Damon pauses his eating and looks at me with a raised brow.

„Of course not!" I say defensively and go back to eating my muffins.

We don't talk during the rest of our meal and I think about what he shared with me so far. I wonder if he can drink from a human without killing or turning them since his kind isn't venomous so I ask him to elaborate on that question.

„I can feed from a human without any problems." He tells me.

„But doesn't that raise suspicions?" I ask him. „There is no way someone would forget a vampire attack. Trust me." I say and wiggle my wrist to him.

He grabs it and slams it on the table. I look at him in shock as he comes closer over the table and looks me straight in the eyes.

„There are ways for my kind to make humans forget. Trust me." He says and I see his pupils dilating in the same way they did before.

„What is wrong with your eyes?" I blurt out since that's also something that has been bothering me for a while.

„It's called compulsion. And it doesn't work on you." He informs me and gets back into his seat.

„Compulsion? Like mind control?" I ask completely shocked.

„Yes. It is an ability all of us have in order to keep the vampire world a secret. It allows us to control a human's mind by making eye contact and projecting instructions into it. It works as long as the person doesn't have vervain in their system or somewhere on their body. Which you don't but it still isn't working." He explains and his tone gets frustrated at the end.

„Why would you want to compel me in the first place?" I accuse him incredulously.

„Well what would you do if a stranger rides into town and keeps you company in the woods without asking any questions?" He asks and I quickly open my mouth to interrupt him but he doesn't let me and continues: „And then the next day you see that same stranger mesmerising everyone in a room full of people without even realising she's doing it?" He says and comes closer to me in the small booth. „What would you do if you notice a scar on the stranger that resembles a bite mark from a vampire? Not to mention that that kind of a scar is impossible to find on a human." Damon continues his talk and grabs my wrist stroking the scar permanently etched onto it. „What would you do if the stranger makes a girl, who has lost almost everything in her life, happier just by being a friend? Just by being herself.." He trails off and looks into my eyes.

His blue orbs show so much emotion.. Everything from despair, frustration and misery to curiosity, awe and a tiny bit of happiness.

It's too much and I avert my eyes from his gaze.

„That's not who I am, Damon.." I tell him with a small voice and feel his finger cupping my chin and turning my head towards him but I still don't look him in the eyes. „I'm weak.. I'm insecure, irrelevant.. I'm nothing." I say and feel his fingers digging a little deeper into my skin.

„Look at me, Isabella!" Damon orders with a strong voice and cradles my head in his hand. „Look at me.." He repeats softly.

I can do nothing but comply so I open my eyes and gasp at the look I see on his face. I see nothing but understanding and comfort.

No words are spoken for a while and the silence is more than comfortable for the both of us.

Soon we pay for our meals and make our way towards my baby.

I sit first and try to start the bike but Damon grabs me from behind and pulls me back until there's enough room for him to sit down.

„It's my bike, Damon." I huff and see him smirk in the rearview mirror.

„I'm sure you can make an exception, Isabella." He says and throws one of his panty-dropping smiles on me.

Well, well Damon. Two can play this game.

I move further back until he settles and start moving my hands slowly around his waist. I let the tips of my fingers graze the hard muscles of his abdomen until I feel a groan building up in his chest. I smirk when I see his palms clenching around the steering wheel so I quickly cross the rest of the way and grab his shoulders for leverage.

Damon's groan is more audible now and he puts the bike into speed almost violently and I can't help but feel giddy beacause even though he's the one driving- I won this round.

XXX

We've been riding for hours nonstop and when the sun almost completely sets I pat Damon's shoulder as a sign for him to stop.

When I take a closer look at the surroundings I notice the familiarity of the city we're in.

„Why are we in Phoenix, Damon?" I ask once we get off the bike.

„We're meeting the lovebirds here." He answers and fishes for a pair of sunglasses from his pocket even though the sun is almost completely gone by now.

„I don't understand.. Why not just meet them in Mystic Falls?"

„God, this city is so hot.. It must be over a hundred degrees here." He muses and ignores my question.

„Damon." I groan.

„This place should not exist. It's like a monument to human arrogance." He continues his mumbling.

„Just tell me, I'm not gonna let it go until you do." I inform him.

„Fine, Miss I-have-to-know-everything." He huffs. „They need to pick something up here for our regular Mystic Falls bad boy."

„Bad boy? As in another vampire?" I press further.

„Kind of." Damon shrugs but I'm not planning on letting it go. I'm tired of half-truths and since I'm gonna tell them everything once we all get together I figure it's only fair of them to tell me the truth as well.

„That doesn't make sense. How can someone kind of be a vampire?"

„He's a hybrid. Half vampire, half werewolf." He says. „And the worst part of all- he is an Original."

„So? You're an Original, too.."

„Yes. But he is the Original. As in one of the first six vampires in the world." He says and I tell him to continue the story. „Our kind's history started a few thousand years ago when a witch casted and immortality spell on her family." Damon starts the story.

I soon become very drawn into their history. Apparently, werewolves existed before vampires and one of the most powerful witches of all time named Esther created a spell for immortality as a protection method against the werewolves who can't control themselves during full moon.

The werewolves in this story are nothing like the Quileute- who, according to Damon, are not even real werewolves. They are merely shapeshifters and them shifting into wolves is nothing but a coincidence. I can see the logic in that- the spirit of Taha Aki could have inhabited the body of any animal. These werewolves, however, are a lot more like the scary creatures from horror movies and books. They are completely out of control during the full moon and their bite is poisonous to vampires.

The Original family consisted of seven members. Esther and her husband Mikael with their children- Rebekah, Kol, Finn and Elijah. Klaus is the bad boy Damon talked about in the beginning and is in fact the son of Esther and a werewolf- hence the hybridism.

Mikael was killed by Klaus. Finn was killed by Matt. Kol was killed by Jeremy.

Apparently, Jeremy is a vampire hunter along with Jenna's boyfriend Alaric. And Klaus has the hots for Caroline who is a vampire aswell and in a relationship with Tyler who is a werewolf.

Yup, what a happy bunch they are..

„Exactly how old are they?" I ask in amazement.

„No one really knows. The furthest that we've come with the research puts us in a timeframe of about 2.5 thousand years." He shrugs.

„Umm.. That's not possible.." I mumble and he looks at me in bewilderment. „Well, the Volturi are at least three thousand years old and you told me your kind came first so.." I elaborate.

„How do you know that?" Damon asks me.

„The Cullens told me. Carlisle spent a few decades with them during his early years. He kept a portrait of himself with the guard in his study in Forks but it's probably gone. They wouldn't leave such valuables behind." I tell him and realise how much more value a silly thing as a painting has over me.

„So you've seen them all?" He prods.

„Well, yes. Obviously I don't really remember them all but Aro, Caius and Marcus have faces you don't easily forget. Why do you ask?"

„Isabella.." He starts. „My past is.. Dark. Surely you must know that the Volturi try their hardest to keep vampirism a secret. That is the most important rule of them all. And, well, I didn't really pay much attention to what I was doing during the darkest time of my life. I killed people on a daily basis without giving a second thought to who they were. I shut down all of my emotions, every single one of them was completely numb, including fear." Damon tells the story and his face portrays a range of emotions- everything from sadness and shame about his past to rage towards it. „The Volturi decided to come after me. Aro sent a few people from his guard to kill me, but they were newbies- I had about 7 decades on them so I killed them instead. They were trained so it wasn't exactly easy work but I was a lot stronger than they thought since I had more than a hundred years by then. And I was ruthless." He continues. „I managed to kill dozens of gifted guard members over the years and, as you can presume, that didn't sit well with the Volturi. Not to mention the fact that I had help."

„Help? Who helped you?" I ask, once again completely drawn into the story.

Damon just chuckles darkly and says: „Some things are better left unsaid. You know enough stuff that put you on the hitlist without me adding this one too." He says and I can see from his expression that he doesn't plan on elaborating further.

We fall into one of our comfortable silences and move to sit on a high brick wall to watch the last of the sunrays leaving the sky.

A question pops into my mind and I make a coughing sound in order to draw his attention.

„Why are you here, Damon?" I ask quietly not wanting to break the bubble we're in. I feel him shrugging beside me but that is not enough of an answer for me.

„Tell me.." I say as I hitch my right leg over the side of the wall so that I can face him.

I see his brows furrowing as he thinks about my question and after a while he mimics my position.

„This.." He sighs. „This is where I want to be."

„I'm glad you came.." I tell him softly as he inches closer and presses his forehead against mine.

We sit like that for a few minutes until I hear a familiar voice yelling my name and snap my head in the direction the voice is coming from.

I see Elena running in our direction and Stefan emerges from the corner behind her. Damon helps me get off the wall and back on the road and as soon as my feet hit the ground I run towards Elena with my arms spread open.

„Hey.." She mumbles into my hair as she wraps her small frame around mine. „I'm so glad you're back with us.."

„Me too." I tell her and turn around to see Stefan smiling at me and spreading his arms.

I untangle myself from Elena and jump into his arms. He hugs me tight and asks: „You good?"

„Yeah, I'm good." I smile at him.

„Are we good to go?" Damon asks from his spot by the wall.

„Pretty much. Grab your things and we can go to the airport, it's in walking distance from here." Stefan tells him and I pick up my backpack from the ground while Damon drags the bike closer.

„Are we walking or riding?" Damon asks me once he gets back.

„I could use a walk, actually. My muscles are really stiff from all the riding." I tell him and stretch a little for good measure.

„Sure." He agrees and pushes the bike as we walk.

„I can push it if you want…" I tell him since I feel really uncomfortable with him having to do it just because I want to walk.

„It's fine. Vampire strength, remember?" He says with a roll of his eyes.

„No, really. It wouldn't be a prob-" I protest but he cuts me off with a glare.

„Don't be annoying." He snaps and I cringe a little at the tone of his voice so I turn my gaze forward and watch Elena and Stefan.

Great, that's what I get for trying to help him out.

The lovebirds are currently walking hand in hand being all sweet and shit and remind me of Edward and myself. I start feeling a pang of jealousy about the happiness I won't ever have again but the light in their eyes causes the jealousy to soon be replaced with delight for my frends' joy.

I also feel annoyed at Damon. I hate that he's nice to me when we're alone but as soon as someone else joins us he's readapts to his cocky asshole persona.

We make our way towards the airport in mere minutes and as soon as we get there Damon grunts something in the lines of: „Thank fuck!", pushes the bike into Stefan's arms and quickly strolls towards the small medical center at the side of the airport.

„Damon's being a jerk because he's hungry. You shouldn't expect him to do it so I apologize in his place." Stefan says and parks my bike near the entrance.

„Don't apologize. It's not your fault." I say back and shoot him a smile which he returns.

As we walk towards to stand we see Damon entering with a huge grin plastered on his face and a big opaque cup with a straw in his hands.

I hear Stefan arguing with the receptionist behind the stand about our flight. Elena sees the confusion etched on my face and explains how Stefan is trying to persuade her into getting us a private plane so we can travel in a more relaxed manner but she keeps telling him that we need to make a reservation in advance in order to get one.

Damon finishes his drink and I can hear the noise the straw makes while he's sucking the last few drops. I turn towards him just as the veins around his eyes retreat and his eyes go back to the beautiful blue shade.

He walks towards the stand, pushes Stefan away and faces the blonde receptionist.

I can see the appreciation in her gaze as her eyes roam around Damon's features and she smiles sweetly when he leans towards her over the stand.

Their eyes meet and Damon says: „Get us a private plane ready as soon as possible."

She finally blinks, quickly presses a few keys on the computer and informs him that our plane will be ready in twenty minutes.

I realise he has compelled her and watch as Stefan punches him in the shoulder.

„She's a human being, not your puppet." Stefan scolds him but Damon isn't affected in the slightest.

„She was just doing her job." I cut in since I don't really approve of what he did. The whole mind control thingy doesn't really sit well with me. Not to mention the fact that the girl could easily lose her job over the little prank Damon just pulled.

„Well she wasn't doing a very good one." Damon says and moves towards the exit once she hands him the necessary paperwork.

Once we're on the runway and moving towards our plane I realise I'm missing something.

„What about my bike?!" I exclaim in panic a little louder than I planned on. Damon just rolls his eyes and walks to the two security guards.

Judging on the way he's holding their gazes I figure he's compelling them to do something. One of them starts speaking on his walkie talkie and a few minutes later another guard walks towards the plane pushing my bike along with him. He opens the luggage compartment and puts my baby into it.

„Is that even allowed?" I ask noone in particular.

„No, but we don't have any luggage so the weight of it won't mess with the plane's balance." Stefan explains and we move inside the plane.

The inside is much more spacious than what you would expect and absolutely stunning.

Small, elegant white tables with huge, comfy looking leather chairs.

I've never traveled in a private plane but I can already tell I'll love it.

We all settle in the four chairs facing each other. Damon sits next to me while Stefan and Elena take the chairs opposite of us.

The silence is awkward and I can't help but feel that we're all aware of the enormous pink elephant in the room so I decide to address it first.

„So.." I mumble. „When do you want to do this?" I ask and watch as Elena's gaze travels towards Stefan. He shrugs so she faces me again.

„Now is as good of a time as ever, I guess." She tells me softly.

I take a huge gulp of air and prepare myself for reliving the bittersweet memories.

A/N

Hello there! Yeah, I know what you're thinking- finally.

Sorry for the lateness, I just can't seem to find time to write..

Just a heads up: the next update might be a little late, aswell.

Gosh, this story is getting harder to write.

Bella's outfit is posted on my FF profile.

Summer's back- There's no need for apologizing!:)

Feel free to follow me on Twitter, Polyvore and Tumblr! The links are posted on my profile!

Guys thank you all for the great reviews, I always enjoy reading them. It makes me so happy that you like the story.

xoxo