ALYSSA'S POV

I was a little surprised when he said it back. I kind of thought I was imagining it at first, because I was still sort of out of it from his bite. He didn't hurt me or anything like that, but it sort of disabled you from thinking straight for a bit. From the look on his face, he had really said it back, and he had really meant it. I could see it in his eyes. From the things he'd told me, Damon didn't love many, if anyone at all, so when he said it back, this heat flooded through my body. I met his gaze, and grinned.

"Do I taste as good as you always say I do?" I asked. He smiled.

"Even better than I thought." He replied. I felt a blush creep to my face. He chuckled, and wrapped his arms around me, pulling me against him. I pressed a kiss to his lips, and smiled.

"You okay?" He asked.

"Perfect." I whispered into his collarbone. He sighed.

"I should probably get you home. I don't want you parents to worry about you or anything." He said. I nodded. He released me, and rolled out of bed. I sat up, and got to my feet, stumbling and almost falling to the floor. He caught me before I could hit my knees.

"I should have bit-. God, I'm sorry." He said. I shook my head and grabbed his face.

"No… no. Don't say that, please. I asked you to." I said. He met my gaze, and nodded.

"Come on. Let's get you home." He said, wrapping an arm around my waist. He pulled the gauze off my neck, and sighed.

"Take your hair down." He said.

"Why?" I asked.

"Please." He said. I nodded, and pulled my hair out of the neat little bun it was in. He moved it around to the side of my neck to cover the bite. "Okay, come on." He led me out of his room, and down the hall. When we reached the parlor, Stefan stepped out.

"Good to see you again, Lyss." He said. I watched as his eyes trailed from mine to my neck. Even with my hair covering it, he must have seen it, because so many emotions played through his eyes, the one most prominent was anger. I knew Damon was in for it when he got home, no doubt.

"Good to see you too Stefan. I'll see you at school tomorrow." I told him. He nodded once, his eyes then falling on his brother. Once we got out the door, and to my mother's car, I frowned.

"I'm sorry, Damon. He's mad. I shouldn't have asked—" He shook his head.

"I don't care what he thinks." Damon said.

"Of course not." I muttered. He smiled.

"Everything will be fine. He'll get over it."

"I hope so." I told him. He helped me in the car, and drove me home. When he got there, he helped me to the door.

"I'll be in your room." He said, before walking around the house. I went inside, grabbed some aspirin from the kitchen, and headed upstairs. When I stumbled in, Damon frowned at me.

"You're not okay." He said.

"I'm fine. I just need a shower, and my bed."

"Alright… just get a shower, and get some rest. I'll be back to check on your later." He said.

"I'll wait up for you."

"Don't do that. You need to rest, Lyss." He said.

"Oh, alright." I muttered. He walked over to me, and kissed me.

"I'll see you soon." He assured me.

"Okay. I love you Damon." I murmured. His face lit up.

"I love you too." He said, before jumping out the window. I went into my bathroom, and got into the shower, having to use the wall for support. I felt about the same way I did when I gave blood at a blood drive. I stumbled out of the shower, got dressed, and collapsed in my bed. I kept thinking of Damon, and the thrill of his bite. I'd been so afraid that he'd bite me, and that it would hurt, but it wasn't. It was actually such an intimate experience; I would do it all over again, no doubt. I could still feel the warmth of his mouth on my neck. The feelings coursing through me were staggering. The pain… yeah, it hurt a little, but it was worth it. Upon finding out he was a vampire, all I could thing was salvage and monster, but he wasn't even close. He was so gentle with me, and took such good care of me. As I lay there, unconsciousness finally found me. I wasn't sure how long I'd been asleep, when I heard my window slide open. He quietly shut it behind him, and turned back to me.

"Hey." I whispered into the darkness.

"You're up."

"I heard you come in. It woke me up." I told him. He frowned.

"It's okay." I whispered, as he pulled back my blankets, and crawled into bed with me.

DAMONS POV

I was trying to be sneaky when I climbed into her room. I used to think of myself as a ninja, stealthy and quick. This time? Not so much. As I shut the window, I heard her speak. I jumped.

"Hey." She whispered. I turned slowly.

"You're up." I observed. I was kind of angry. I told her not to wait up for me. I should have known she wouldn't listen.

"I heard you come in. It woke me up." She told me. So much for stealthy. I walked over to the bed, and pulled the blankets back, crawling in next to her, and cuddling up to her. I wrapped my arms around her, and held her to my chest. She sighed, and smiled. I loved it when she did that. I met her eyes, and grinned.

"Did I get you into trouble with Stefan?" She asked. Here she was, always worrying about me.

"I've already told you, I don't care what he thinks." I smiled, thinking of him standing in the hallway, yelling at me about how irresponsible it was to bite her, and that if I cared for her at all I wouldn't do it again, and I should have known better, and blah blah blah. I leaned forward and pressed a gentle kiss to her lips.

"I had fun today." She murmured. I turned and looked at the clock.

"Actually, that was yesterday." I said. She rolled her gorgeous green eyes.

"Oh hush. You know what I mean."

"I did." I said, smiling at her annoyance. "I had fun too." She met my gaze.

"I love you." I murmured. She smiled, it lighting up the room around us, even in the dark.

"I love you too." She said.

"How are you feeling?" I asked.

"I'm fine. Just tired, is all."

"You'll be one hundred percent by tomorrow." I assured her.

"I know."

"We have school tomorrow." I whispered.

"I know that too." She muttered.

"I'll be gone when you wake up." She frowned, but nodded.

"That's fine. I'll see you at school, right?"

"Of course." I assured her. She smiled.

"Goodnight." She whispered.

"Goodnight." I said, as I laid my head over hers. As the silence of night crept over her room, I heard her breathing and her heartbeat slow, meaning she was asleep. I smiled. She was the most beautiful thing I'd ever seen. She meant so much to me, and I never thought I would be able to say that about anyone ever again, after Katherine. She was the most amazing, sweet, kind, beautiful, delicious person I'd ever met. I smiled as I remembered the taste of her blood. She was amazing in every way possible. It was hardly fair to anyone else that someone so beautiful, and angelic could be mine. I knew I didn't deserve her in the slightest, and how I got so lucky was beyond me, but I knew I had to take care of her, to hold onto what we have, because things can change so quickly. I've seen it, experienced it time and time again. I won't lose her. Slowly, I fell asleep, but after about four hours of lying there, I knew I had to get up to get home and get ready for school. I also knew I had to leave before the sun came up, so people wouldn't see me jump out of her window. I gently maneuvered her off me, and slipped out of her bed. I slid my shoes back on and tip-toed back to the window, sliding it open, and jumping out of it. I turned and made sure I hadn't woke her, before jumping out of the tree, and heading home. When I walked in, Stefan was sitting on the steps, waiting for me, I presumed.

"Where have you been?" He asked voice hard. I rolled my eyes.

"I was with Alyssa. Where else would I be?"

"Did you feed on her again?" He demanded.

"Why do you care? She's none of your concern anyway. She's mine." I growled. I don't know why I let him rile me up like this.

"I don't want you to hurt her." He snapped back at me. Like I ever would.

"I wouldn't hurt her." I said.

"You already have." He growled.

"It's not like I did it without her consent, Stefan." I said. He was pissing me off more than usual, and I was having a hard time holding onto my composure.

"What are you talking about?" He asked. I'd thrown him off.

"She asked me to bite her. I didn't force her into it. She asked… and I couldn't refuse her." I told him. He just gawked at me, probably not believing a word I was saying.

"You're bluffing." He said.

"Ask her."

"Why would she… I don't understand." He said, looking at the ground. I didn't exactly understand just why she did it either. I was just as confused as he was. I went to my room, and grabbed a change of clothes, getting in the shower. When I got out, I got dressed and headed to her house in my car to pick her up. When I pulled into her drive way her mom's car was already gone. I honked once, and got out, leaning up against the hood of my car. For some reason, after Stefan jumped my case about me biting her, I suddenly felt guilty. I kept picturing her stumbling out of the bed, almost falling. I kept picturing her not recovering from my bite. I knew she would, but I just felt super guilty. I stared at her front door, waiting on her to come out.

ALYSSA'S POV

As I ran my straightener through my hair one last time, I heard him honk. I smiled. I gave myself one last glance, making sure I looked appropriate. I checked my bite mark, which had been completely concealed with make-up. I nodded once, grabbed my bag, and headed downstairs. I opened the door, and smiled as I met his warm gaze. I bounded over to him, and smiled.

"Goodmorning." I said.

"Morning love." He smiled, and raised an eyebrow at me. "You're in a good mood."

"Would you rather me be in a bad mood?" He feigned a shudder, and shook his head.

"That's a negative." He said.

"That's what I thought." I said, reaching up on my tip-toes, and kissing him. When I pulled away, his eyes fell on my neck.

"I heal quickly." I told him, waving my hand dismissively. He chuckled.

"Come on. We're gonna be late." I snorted.

"With you driving… I doubt it." I muttered. He growled as he opened the passenger's side door for me.

"Your right." He said, smiling at me, as he closed the door behind me. He walked around at normal speed, and got in, and backed out, heading towards the school.

"So…" He said.

"What?" I asked.

"How are you feeling?"

"I'm fine." I told him.

"Are you lying to me?" He asked, raising an eyebrow.

"I'm not lying to you Damon. I feel fine. I promise."

"Good. I don't know what I would have done with myself if I actually would have—" I clamped my hand over his mouth, cutting off his next words.

"Don't." I said. He nipped my hand with his teeth. I pulled away and growled. "Jerk."

"Only for you." He said.

"Of course." I muttered, as we pulled into the student parking lot. He chuckled, as he got out, and came around to open my door. When I got out, I swear, all eyes were on us. He took my hand in his, intertwining our fingers as we walked towards the building. He walked me to my locker to grab my book, when Carrie and Rose showed up. I swear, their jaws both hit the floor. As I shut my locker door, he placed his head on my shoulder, and wrapped his arms around my waist.

"What?" I asked.

"Uhm… nothing." Rose said, smiling at me.

"Are you two…dating?" Carrie asked.

"Yeah, we are." Damon said, cutting me off. I grinned, and nodded.

"That's so awesome. I'm happy for you, Lyss." Rose said. I could see the jealousy flood through Carrie's eyes as her gaze fell upon his arms around my waist. That was the one thing that annoyed me about her. She always wanted what I had. She was always jealous of me, and always had to try and be better. It'd been like that since middle school.

"We're going to be late." I told him. He nodded.

"Your right." He said.

"See you guys later." I told them, taking Damon's hand, and heading off to first period. When we got to the classroom, I asked for my make-up work, and had most of it finished before class even started. When I finished it, I turned it in, heading back towards my seat. Damon smiled at me, as I walked down the row to the desk beside him.

"What?" I asked. He shook his head. I rolled my eyes, and nodded.

"Whatever." I grinned. Class started, and I averted my gaze up front. Damon stared at me the entire time. I wondered what he was thinking, but I knew he wouldn't tell me.

"Stop looking at me." I whispered. He smiled.

"Why?"

"Because your making me self-conscious." He chuckled.

"I'm sorry. You're so beautiful. It's hard not to stare." I snorted. The teacher looked up, probably hearing us talking. I made sure not to make it obvious that it was Damon and I. She finally turned back around.

"See what you did." I whispered even lower, knowing he could still here me.

"Sorry." Class eventually ended, and everyone got up to leave. Damon waited for me as I got my things together. He walked me to English, where I knew Stefan waited inside.

"I'll see you at lunch." He said. I nodded. He leaned down and pressed a quick and gentle kiss to my lips. People watched as the passed by and even Carrie glared in jealousy as she walked by. I walked in and took my seat next to Stefan, smiling at him. He frowned.

"How are you?" I sighed.

"I'm fine, Stefan."

"Lyssa, Damon told me what you did." He said. I knew he was referring to me asking him to bite me.

"I know he did." I murmured.

"You don't understand how much of a chance you were taking. He could have killed you so very easily."

"I knew he wouldn't. I trust him, Stefan."

"That's a bad decision too." He said.

"And you wonder why you two fight all the time. You put no faith in him at all, Stefan."

"Lyssa, if only you knew." He murmured.

"Knew what?"

"What he was like before he became romantically involved with you. You wouldn't be so willing to open up your veins to that guy." He said.
"Stefan… I trust him."

"Lyssa, you don't—" He was cut off by the teacher starting class. For the first time ever, I was actually thankful that Stefan stopped talking.