'Leave me out with the waste this is not what I do. It's the wrong kind of place to be thinking of you. It's the wrong time for somebody new. It's a small crime and I've got no excuse. Is that alright? Give my gun away when it's loaded is that alright? If you don't shoot it how am I suppose to hold it. Is that alright with you? Leave me out with the waste this is not what I do. It's the wrong kind of place to be cheating on you. It's the wrong time, she's pulling me through. It's a small crime and I've got no excuse.' -9 Crimes (Damien Rice)
Watching Mila disappear into the surrounding forest Damon let her go. His thoughts were still too chaotic and confused that even if he caught up to her what would he have been able to say? Unknown to Mila he'd awakened the moment she had originally having the intention to have some fun with her but in the end it had all backfired. He'd felt her watching him, studying him intently with violet eyes. The moment her lips had skimmed over his own his mind instantly went blank. In that instant all he knew was Mila's presence and the intense shock waves that shot through him starting from the source of contact down to his toes.
How did such a small touch affect him? It was more than he'd ever felt from similar touches. No—this was in no way similar to anything he'd felt before. Damon knew he was no saint. There were many women and many much more passionate kisses in his past but never had one elicited such a powerful response in him. In the few short seconds of that fleeting kiss something had sparked within him that nothing had ever been able to spark before. What was most disconcerting, sending his mind into a confused whirl was the inward realization that such a spark had always been present burned somewhere deep within; the very spark that had risen for Mila.
Barely considered a kiss, so light in touch but in its gentleness what it lacked in passion seemed to speak volumes of something greater. Yet, whatever that answer was Damon was unsure if he truly wanted to know. There was no reason to change things from the way they had once been between Mila and him; there was no reason to change now.
Uncomfortable with such thoughts and emotions Damon forced himself to move. Rather than follow after Mila who had long since disappeared amongst the trees he traveled in the opposite direction. Looking up he observed the sky peeking out from the reaching branches of the trees. For a day that had begun so pleasantly and surprisingly well it had quickly become a waste sighing deeply Damon continued to walk. With his thoughts and emotions jumbled about what he wanted now was answer that to questions that he wasn't able to answer.
There was only one person who would know the truth. The question was would she reveal what he needed to know or revel in his confusion.
With a great deal of control Damon kept up the image of cool disdain. Once he was able to calm himself he didn't pause as he ran blurring through the trees as he headed for his destination. Coming upon the familiar layout of the tomb Damon paused at the ladder leading down suddenly wary of his decision to come there. Yet, the unanswered questions continued to linger nagging at the back of his mind. There was a part of him that felt a twinge of guilt for going behind Mila's back for answers that she was intentionally not answer—the same answers that she had refused to give him the night before. Only hours ago she had begged him to let it go. Now with that spark still gaining life within him he felt unable to keep that promise.
In his mind's eye he could see her violet eyes looking back at him no longer filled with the trust he had always seen looking back at him even after a hundred year separation. He could see it disappearing turning to anger and betrayal.
Second thoughts were too late now that he was at the tomb. All he could do now was push them aside to deal with later. Looking his calm into place in preparation Damon stepped into the tomb. As if expecting his arrival Katherine was already leaning lazily against the stone wall idly twirling a long strand of deep brown hair between her fingers.
"If it isn't Damon. Have you come to pine for me again because that's getting rather old," she sighed as if bored except for the cruel smirk that said otherwise. "Do you know how inconvenient your little obsession with me has been?"
"You and me both," Damon shot back with a cruel dark smile.
"Did you miss me?" Katherine asked cattily barely sparing him a glance even as he stepped closer.
"You did something to Mila," Damon began choosing to ignore her catty remarks and get what he came for so that he could leave. "What was it?" the accusation come out harshly and less controlled then he had intended but quickly he quickly controlled himself but unfortunately not quickly enough before gaining Katherine's full interest.
A cruel smile curled her lips before a wicked laugh erupted from her lips. Now her eyes were watching him keenly. Luckily for him Damon had long since developed a shield to block out such seeing eyes—a trick he'd learned from the best yet it didn't deter Katherine in the least.
"Ahh so little Mila Crosse is your worry today," Katherine chuckled in cruel delight. "You're obsession for me was perhaps even more inconvenient for her than it was for me."
The wicked smirk curling at Katherine's lips only grew when she watched the confusion flit through Damon's blue eyes. Yet, she realized that there was more there as well than there had been before. It was a new awareness that sparked a new wave of pure enjoyment from deep within her twisted heart.
"So you're finally starting to realize it," her words were a simple statement meant to drawn more of a reaction from Damon. "It's about time considering it's always been particularly obvious," Katherine paused briefly watching Damon's every move not missing that flash of confusion that clouded his eyes for the briefest moment before he willed it away. "To everyone but you that is," she continued scoffing disdainfully even as her pleasure in the situation was made abundantly clear.
"What are you talking about?" Damon demanded darkly his calm voice tainted with increasing frustration at Katherine's playing.
Katherine's eyes zeroed in on him from across the enchanted door way observing him carefully for a moment before she spoke again.
"Mila's in love with you," she pointed out as if it were the most obvious thing in the world breaking through Damon's mask of calm disdain .
"What are you talking about?" Damon growled again refusing to believe in her words but inwardly knowing they were the truth.
"It's not my place to say," she smiled coyly returning to idly twirling her hair unable to resist the fun of having him dance to her tune.
Katherine's smile only curled more cruelly when Damon took an angry step forward his fists clenched so tightly they turned white and his eyes blazed. Yes, despite his obvious anger Katherine had to applaud his ability to remain under some semblance of control. Suddenly she realized that there was something more to it than that. There was something changed about Damon that peaked bother her interest and humor as the answer slowly began to dawn on her giving her even more opportunity to bait him.
"Such a sad scared little mouse always interfering," Katherine growled disdainfully remembering all the times Mila had attempted to talk her out of her plans for the Salvatore brothers and in sum. As she spoke Katherine never looked away watching Damon's every movement carefully and just as she had hoped her words sent him into action.
"Don't talk about her like that!" Damon snarled longing to reach out and end the women standing before him as she watched him with cruel triumphant eyes.
Too late he realized that Katherine had intentionally spoken with the intention of getting a reaction from him to judge him. He hated it that she could so easily manipulate them to her likely just as she always had. Only now he wasn't as blind to it as he had once been in the past.
"She's already getting to you again," she scoffed with a roll of her eyes. "You're already changing—I can tell. She makes you care again," the disdainful sneer making it sound as if it were the worst thing in the world that could possibly happen. "Shame—it makes you boring," Katherine added with a long idle sigh.
"Don't be ridiculous," Damon scoffed in return refusing to let Katherine weasel her way under her skin. It wouldn't do Mila or himself any good to allow Katherine to twist their relationship into something as dark and hateful as she was.
"I wouldn't be so sure," she replied undeterred by Damon's sudden regaining of his calm controlled composure.
Deciding it was time to move in for the kill of what he had observed Katherine spoke again a smile spreading wickedly across her lips with extreme satisfaction at each word.
"Something happened between you."
Damon stiffened at the cold matter of fact words even as they elicited the memory of the heart pounding shock of Mila's soft lips touching his. Sadly as well as he controlled his reaction the instant defensiveness that had tensed his muscled hadn't gone unnoticed by Katherine's well trained eyes. As if realizing exactly what had taken place between Mila and himself Katherine let out another loud wicked laugh that echoed though the tomb walls.
"Perhaps I was wrong and she's not such a scared little mouse anymore!" Katharine got in between fits of laughter.
"What about her?" Damon demanded once more putting them back on the track he intended and refusing to let Katherine win.
Seeing that Damon was seemingly unaffected by her behavior the fun slipped away instantly leaving her standing before him silent and cold.
"You should just kill her," Katherine stated with eerie coldness. "Put her out of her misery because we both know you can't give her what she needs Damon."
Ignoring Katherine's words Damon continued to try and get the answers he wanted.
"You wouldn't keep her around if you didn't have a reason. What was it?" he growled the anger from her easy unfeeling words beginning to seep through the crack of his control and turning his eyes a deadly burning blue. If looks could kill there was little doubt that Katherine would have been struck down where she stood.
"You know the answer," Katherine sighed pointing out that she'd already given him that answer earlier. "She knew it herself so don't think I used her so horribly. If she had wanted to Mila could have left."
"Why didn't she?" Damon asked disbelieving that Mila would've so easily allowed Katherine to manipulate her being as aware of Katherine's behavior and thoughts as she had been in the past—more so than anyone else ever had in back then. In his mind it just didn't make sense that she would stay knowing how easily Katherine would've thrown her to the wolves if needed.
"In order to gain something you have to sacrifice or hurt someone in order to do so. If it meant my own survival I was more than willing to do so," there was no feeling or hesitation in her voice as she spoke making the reality of her selfish heart all the more clear. "If Klaus had found me I would've handed her over to save myself in an imaginary heart beat. It was easy enough to keep her around. People like Mila can't win against their loneliness and all I did was take advantage of hers. It was easy enough thanks to you," Katherine's insinuation was clear. "Really all the fun I had was just an added bonus."
"What's that suppose to mean?" Damon scowled refusing to be drawn into her game.
"Don't be so naive Damon," Katherine answered rolling her eyes and heaving an exaggerated sigh. "If anyone hurt Mila it wasn't me," she replied pausing briefly to ensure he was listening intently before continuing on. "It was you and deep down you know what I said earlier was the truth. She loved you as a friend and then more than friend but you treated her like family—little more than part of the furniture. She was perhaps one of the only people who ever truly cared for you and I enjoyed myself immensely by watching you destroy her," little by little Katherine's words were gaining more cruelty as she began to lose her usual calm demeanor. Now all she wanted to was to inflict pain. "You have no idea how fun yet incredibly annoying her pathetic begging became. 'Please leave them out of it'," she mocked impersonating Mila's pleads.
Having the only answers he knew he would get out of Katherine and seeing he wouldn't get anywhere else with her Damon simply turned and walked away. His last question was not one Katherine could answer. Only he could do that and inwardly—in that part of himself he kept hidden he feared the answer because he didn't know how to handle it. It was what confused him. It was why he felt so unnaturally unsure of himself. All he knew was that spark—and Mila were part of the answer. But after these last minutes with Katherine he wasn't certain if it was a question that should be realized because he couldn't deny the certain truths in what Katherine had said.
Realizing what he was doing Katherine immediately stopped her mockery her eyes turning a molten golden brown in anger that he would have the nerve to walk away from her.
"Don't you dare look away from me Damon!" she screamed angrily beating against the invisible force that kept her within the tomb.
Damon paused briefly at the ladder and without bothering to look back spoke.
"You won't hurt her anymore."
"And what about you?" she sneered angrily from behind. "You haven't changed!"
"This time I'll be the one protecting her," he stated with simple conviction.
With nothing more to say Damon disappeared in a single leap out of the hole of the tomb entrance and disappeared amongst the trees leaving Katherine once again alone within the tomb.
"Don't walk away from me!" were her childish screams he heard as he walked away into the lonely forest to be left alone with his warring thoughts.
There was a great deal of things to consider before returning home.
AN: As promised I am getting back into the grove of things. AKA writing during class when I get bored which is often. Warrented this is a slightly short chapter compared to others but I think you'll enjoy it.
The next chapter is When Another Heart Calls by the All American Rejects and is as I promised awhile ago is Damon's flash back chapter. It will I am sure will be shorter than Mila's had been due to the fact that I accidently put parts of the flashback that were suppose to be in Damon's in Mila's. I may still touch on them through Damon's POV but not as much. But I do have other things that will be seen from the past in his POV.
Thanks to the few who have been keeping up with reviews! I love you for it! It makes me write faster. Remember I like specifics in reviews (what and why)! Love you readers! I'll update as soon as I can!
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