One of the first questions raised when vampires revealed themselves was: How do you procreate?
The answer had been simple; One bite and you're a vampire withing 24 hours.
That fact had helped out Alice in many cases. It was often seen that people would try to frame vampires for attacking them. Alice had always thought them idiots. It was so easy to call their lies; when they kept human after a day, it was obviously not a vampire bite.
The rumor said that the only antidote to a bite, was vampire blood, which of course was not easy to get by, but then again apparently vampires were pretty good at sticking to the legal kind of feeding from bloodbags.
Alice was half running half stumbling down the streets. She felt dizzy, and had a hard time focusing. People looked at her weirdly. She just kept going. She had to stop the transition. She had to! And there was only on place she could go. She stopped abruptly, when she almost went past her destination.
It was a small club. A sign on the door said: Vampires only. Above the door the name of the club was written in bold letters: Ric's corner.
She pushed the door open. This was supposed to the Salvatores favorite place. She just hoped they would be here, and would be ready to do her a favor.
It was dark inside, and it took a long moment for her to regain her sight. When she did, her view was filled by a massive body. She looked up at the man. He had to be at least 6,5" tall.
"This is vampires only, little lady. You need to leave."
She just shook her head, trying to regain her speech. Finally she succeeded to press out some words.
"I need to see the Salvatores."
"I'm sorry missy, as I said before, humans are not welcome here."
She was about to put up a fight, when a voice spoke up from inside the room.
"It's okay, let miss Black in."
She recognized Stefan Salvatore's voice, and exhaled in relief. She brushed past the guy, and quickly found Stefan sitting by a table in the middle of the room with three other vampires, among them his brother.
She tried to get a grip on herself. These were her clients, and it would not do for her to show how shaken she was.
She straightened and walked over to the table. Everyone except Damon had their attention on her.
One vampire watching you can be quite unnerving. A whole room on the other hand, Alice thought, that must be the best way to force on a panic attack.
She nodded to everyone, but spoke directly to Stefan.
"Mr. Salvatore, thank you so much for meeting me." She didn't know how to continue, and fell silent for a moment.
Stefan just looked at her, waiting for her to spill it. She took in a deep breath, before rushing into it. With a low voice she rambled:
"I was bitten. I need your blood."
It came out all wrong.
When you deal with vampires, you need to keep your emotions in check, and serve the proposal with just the right amount of arrogance and humility to spark their interest. And when you've got that, you have to negotiate the best you've ever learned to wind up with a deal.
As the words had left her lips, she realized she should have asked to talk to him alone. It seemed like every person in the room tensed. Even if he ever would have considered letting her drink his blood, that chance was totally lost.
"I think you need to leave, Miss Black." His voice was cold and he had averted his gaze to his drink.
But she couldn't just leave. Her heart raced, she just couldn't turn into a vampire. She firmly held her ground.
"I'm sorry if I offended you Mr. Salvatore, and I am of course willing to make a very attractive deal with you."
"That has no interest for me."
She was desperate, she looked around trying to somehow think of something she could say, something she could do! Damon had ignored the conversation untill now, but suddenly she felt his intense gaze on her.
She turned around to leave, when he broke the threatening silence.
"You can alway have a drink of me, Alice." His voice was like velvet and made her stop dead in her tracks, before turning around slowly facing him. He had an amused smirk playing on the corner of his mouth, and a provoking glint in his eyes. Stefan hissed at him.
"Stop it Damon."
But Damon ignored him and motioned for Alice to come closer. She did so hesitantly. Was he really serious? Or would he just laugh at her or maybe even drain her even before she could turn? No he wouldn't do that. She had learned that one thing that Damon loved was to piss off his brother, and everyone else, both human and vampires. This was obviously one of those stunts she so often got him out of.
But she didn't care. Didn't even mind that she would be indebted to one of the most deadly vampires in town. She stopped in front of him, not really knowing what to do next.
"Sit." He patted his lap patronizing. "I wont bite."
She did as he told her trying to ignore the hisses that escaped several of the vampires. She felt awkward sitting there on his lap, in front of everyone.
He took a drink from the glass of scotch, before tipping his head, obviously wanting her to bite him in the neck. She could feel her courage begin to falter.
"Come on, use them sharp human teeth." He was mocking her.
Fuck this.
She leaned against his chest and let her lips touch his skin. He was cold, but not unpleasantly so.
She bit down.
It was not as hard as she'd suspected. She could feel him tense slightly against her, as she penetrated his skin.
This is so weird!
As the first drops entered her mouth, she could almost immediately feel how her head started to clear. And it didn't even taste bad. Nothing like she would have thought at least.
She didn't know how much to take. After some ten seconds she pulled away from him. He rose his glass in a mocking salute.
"Cheers, babe."
She rose. Her body suddenly bursting with energy. She licked her lips awkwardly, clearing of the remains of his blood.
"Thank you, Mr. Salvatore. I am in your debt." He nodded, looking slightly bored. She started to say something else but stopped, when she noticed the angry tension in the room. She just turned around and hurried to the door, not casting another look behind her.
Outside she stood for a moment, just enjoying the feel of the sun on her face. She had a sudden urge to laugh and dance. She was alive! And she would stay alive! She repressed it though, since there was a whole bar full of angry vampires only few meters from her. Instead she started walking down the street.
She hadn't gone far when she was suddenly thrown up against the wall, for the second time that day.
His fangs were bared in a growl so close to her that she couldn't help but whimper with fear. His normally crystal blue eyes had turned to an almost black shade. He watched, almost willing her to fight him, but she didn't move an inch. She just stared right back.
Then he spoke...
So Damon is back. This times the roles are a bit turned around ;-P What do you think?