Keeping Secrets
Ch. 4
Bright sunlight beamed through the white curtains of Katie's window as soft snores came from both her and Damon. With a groan, Damon wiped his eyes and looked around seeing Katie's head still lying on his chest. With eyes still adjusting to the sunlight he reached over to the night stand and picked up Katie's phone. It was six thirty and school didn't start until eight so he turned off the alarm she had set for seven and pulled up her contacts list. He punched the button to add a new contact and typed, "The hotter Salvatore brother" into the contact name slot then added his cell number and hit save.
Bored, he started playing with her hair, waking her up. "Damon?" she asked groggily picking her head up to look at him with squinted eyes. "You stayed all night." She observed, scooting away from him to prop her head up with her hand and elbow.
"Surprised?" he asked with a sleepy half smile.
"I'm not gonna lie. I figured you would've stayed until I was asleep then bolted." She said while rubbing the sleep out of her eyes. "What time is it?"
"I'm gonna try not to get offended at that and it's around six thirty. I know your alarm was set for seven, but I turned it off when I woke up." He said as he started paying with her hair again.
"Why? I'm still tired." She asked letting her head fall, resting her forehead on his cool chest.
"Because I wanted morning pillow talk." He said as if it were the obvious answer.
"I didn't take you for the type." She said as she picked her head up and looked him in the eyes. "Unless that's code for wanting to bite me again."
"Any other morning I would say yes please, but I took too much from you last night. You need more that four hours to recover." He said.
Katie sat up leaned against the wall and moved her legs to rest over his. "Will you hand me my glasses please?"
He grabbed her glasses and handed them to her. "You ever think about getting contacts?" he asked as he watched her put them on.
"Yeah, the eye doctor gave me a free pair to try." She said with a shrug. "I hated them, plus I have to pay for everything that's mine myself so I opted to make a car payment instead of buying contacts." She said with a shrug.
"You know there's always lasik." He commented as he put his hand under the covers and started rubbing her leg.
"Yes, because if I can't afford contacts I could afford lasik." She popped off and in a flash he grabbed her sides and moved her so that she was pinned under him, her head now at the foot of the bed.
"I'll pay for it." he said with a shrug then kissed her.
"No." she told him when he pulled back. "I like my glasses, they give me character."
"If you say so." He shrugged then attacked her neck with kisses.
She laughed and pushed him back, but he didn't budge. "You keep doing that and I'm gonna miss school." She moved her hands into his hair and pulled.
He stopped and smiled down at her. "I only meant for you to do that when I'm biting you."
"Yeah, well, I need to shower and get some coffee in me since you woke me up early." She said looking into his eyes, wondering how she had the strength to say no to them.
"Would it really be so bad if you missed one day of school to stay in bed with me all day?" He practically begged. Not using compulsion was making him sound needy.
"If I were naturally smart like the rest of the students at the top of my class, no. But I have to study hard and actually go to class." She sighed running her hands over his chest, noticing his skin was cooler to the touch than a normal person's. "So first, a shower." She pulled him down to her, catching his lips with hers.
He kissed his way to her ear. "Fine, but make it quick and I better get to see you in just a towel." He bit her earlobe then sat up letting her slide from the bed. "I'll go make coffee."
While he was in the fairly large kitchen putting on a pot of coffee Katie showered quickly then headed back to her room and started getting dressed. She had put on a pink and black matching underwear set and was pulling on a pair of Jean's when he walked in. "Damn, I missed you in a towel." He sighed from where he leaned against the door frame, still shirtless as he watched her jeans slide up over her butt. She turned to him as she buttoned and zipped them.
"You didn't miss much." She sighed and pulled a thin long sleeved maroon shirt over her head.
He whooshed over to her and kissed her nose. "I beg to differ."
Katie grabbed a black leather jacket off the floor and put it on. Only when she noticed how baggie it was on her did she realize she had grabbed Damon's jacket. "Oops." She shrugged it off handed it to him then his shirt. She grabbed her jacket then shoved her books and homework into her bag. "Now coffee." She sighed then walked past Damon who had just finished putting on his jacket.
While she fixed her coffee he held her hips from behind and kissed her neck. "Why don't you want anyone to know about us?" He asked then kept kissing her as she stirred in some creamer.
"I don't remember saying that I didn't want any one to know." She said looking confused even though he couldn't see her face.
"Pretty sure you did right before I called Caroline." he said between kisses then pulled back and turned her around to look into her bright green eyes. "You said no one needs to know about us."
"Right, I forgot about that." She sighed as she picked up her cup then took a sip. Damon gave her a look that told her to answer the question. "Several reasons." She said as he gave her a soft nudge to the side so that he could make himself a cup. "You just broke it off with my friend. I'm already breaking girl code by being with you right now." She set down at the small dining table. "On top of that, I don't even know what us means and until we figure it out I don't want to put us out there to be judged. My main goal right now is to not hurt Caroline." She took a sip of coffee and swallowed. "I care too much about my friends to chose a guy over them, no offense."
He set down across from her. "You're a good friend you know that?"
"You say to the girl who made her best friends boyfriend break up with her?" She asked with a scoff. "I'm a terrible friend."
"Yeah, but you had a good reason." He countered.
"Still doesn't make it right." She sighed and looked down at her cup.
"Stop beating yourself up about it." He told her as he downed his cup. "You working at the bar tonight?" he changed the subject.
"No, it's Friday, football game." She answered then looked at her watch. "You gonna be there?"
"Stefan joined the team, and my secret girlfriend will be cheering so...probably." he answered pretending to think about it.
She tried not to think too much into the fact that he called her his girlfriend. "Good." She said as she finished off her coffee and went to the icebox. She pulled a frozed waffle out and popped it into the toaster. "So is Stefan feeding on Elena?" Katie asked curiously.
"No." Damon answered with a tight lipped shake of his head.
"How are you so sure?" She asked as she leaned against the counter.
"Because," he said as he stood up and walked over to her, placing his hands on her hips, "Stefan only drinks animal blood."
"If that's an option why don't you drink animal blood?" She asked as the waffle popped up.
"Because it's disgusting. It gets you by but it doesn't keep you strong." Katie just looked at him and took a bite of the waffle not caring that it was still a little cold. "Imagine only eating a hand full of chocolate pieces and a tiny cup of water every day." Katie wrinkled her nose. "Yeah, not fun."
"So why does Stefan do it?" She asked trying not to be judgmental.
"Because he has no self control when it comes to human blood." He answered pulling her hips into his.
"What does that mean?" She asked then took another bite.
"Let's just say that if it was Stefan in your room last night you would be in pieces right now." He said then leaned over and took a bite of her waffle.
"Damn." She said with wide eyes. "Are you sure I don't need to worry about Elena?" She asked.
"Positive." He answered then let go of her hips and turned around. "If you still insist on making it to school you should probably get going."
She looked up at the clock to see that it was a quarter till eight. "Shit." She hissed and stuck the rest of the waffle between her teeth and grabbed her bag and coat then rushed to the door.
"Hey, forgetting something?" he asked and she turned back to see him holding her keys and cell phone. So she walked over and made a grab for them but he pulled them up, holding them over her head. She smiled and glared up at him through his lashes. After a second she pressed her lips to his and kissed him, teasing him with her tongue as she slid her hand up his chest to grip his neck. As she predicted, he relaxed and lowered his hand to put it on her waist. As soon as he did she grabbed her things out of his hand, still kissing him.
He tried to get them back, but she managed to keep them out of reach until she backed away and eventually broke the kiss. "I win." She smiled up at him.
"You play dirty." He commented pouting again before he smiled a cheeky smile. "I like it." she just laughed and walked away with a smile on her face.
Since she got to school just in time to make it into the classroom right before the bell rang, she didn't get to see her friends or make sure Caroline was okay. After school Katie went home and put on her uniform, French braided her bangs back out of her face, and put on flattering brown shades of eye shadow, a light coating of mascara, and glittery pink lip gloss that Caroline forces her to wear on Friday nights then headed out for the game.
From the time Katie met up with the cheer squad, Caroline acted like nothing had ever happened with them and like she hadn't been dumped last night. "So I take it you and Caroline made up." Bonnie said as she walked up to where she stood with the other cheerleaders on the field who were setting up the sign for the football players to run though.
"No, I haven't spoken to her since our fight last night." Katie said with a shrug. She wasn't about to tell Bonnie that she knew for a fact that Damon dumped her last night. "So are you still obsessing over those numbers?" she changed the subject.
"Yeah, it's weird. I have no idea what they're supposed to mean." She said with a frown, clearly worried about it.
"You'll figure it out eventually." Katie said with a shoulder shrug as she spotted Elena headed their way over Bonnie's shoulder.
"You're weirdly okay with all of this." Bonnie told her with a suspicious look.
"What can I say, I'm good with weird." Katie said with a smile then turned it to Elena as she walked up to them
"Hey, can I ask you a question and you give me a serious, no-joke response?" Elena asked Bonnie, looking freaked.
"Of course. What is it?" Bonnie asked.
"The bad mojo. When you touched Stefan and you had that reaction." Elena started.
"You know what, forget I said that. Your little dinner party plot totally won me over." Bonnie interrupted.
"No, Bonnie, Seriously. What was it?" Elena asked still looking freaked out. "Did you see something, or…?"
Bonnie looked at Katie, clearly hesitant to answer. "We trust you, Bon." She encouraged her friend with a small smile and a nod.
"It wasn't clear like a picture. Like today, I keep seeing those same numbers I told you about, 8, 14, 22. When I touched Stefan, it was a feeling. And it vibrated through me and it was cold and it…"
"And what?" Elena asked eagerly.
"It was death. It's what I imagine death to be like." Bonnie answered.
Elena nodded looking disappointed. "Thanks. Have fun tonight." She said then turned and started walking away.
The cheerleaders were lined up on each side of the sign forming a runway for the football players to run through, but when the guys never showed up, people started getting worried. Eventually the announcer informed everyone that the game was being postponed because the Mystic Falls football coach had been attacked by an animal. Everyone was instructed to proceed to their cars with caution.
Katie and Bonnie stood outside the school as a medical team put the coach who was in a body bag on a stretcher and started wheeling him to the ambulance. After the ambulances doors shut Katie looked at Bonnie to see tears forming in her eyes and her hands started shaking. "Hey, are you okay?" Katie asked placing her hand on Bonnie's shoulder.
"8." Bonnie pointed at the building across from them, "14" she then pointed to a license plate then a number painted on the street, "22."
"Oh my God." Katie whispered realizing that Bonnie had been seeing her teacher's death. "Maybe it's just a coincidence." Katie said with a shrug trying to make her friend feel better.
"Katie, I'm scared." Bonnie started crying and Katie pulled her friend into a hug.
"It'll be fine, I promise." Katie rubbed her back. "We'll figure this out, okay?"
"I need to get home." Bonnie pulled back and wiped her tears.
"Are you gonna be okay?" Katie asked letting go of her friend.
"Yeah, I'll be fine." Bonnie answered putting on a strong face that Katie didn't buy. "I'll see you later, okay?" Katie nodded then they went their separate ways.
As soon as Katie walked through her front door her grandpa practically pounced on her, pinning her against the door with his forearm on her neck. "What did I do now?" Katie grunted, grabbing his arm and attempting to pull it off of her.
"Oh, you didn't do anything." He sneered at her as she struggled to get out of his hold. "But one of my best friends died tonight and I feel like hitting something."
"Then buy a punching bag." He grunted, feeling her face turn red from the lack of oxygen.
"Why would I do that? I have you." he growled and took his arm off of her neck just to punch her in the side three times. She doubled over in pain as he grabbed her by her hair and slung her around like a rag doll before tossing her to the floor. She was defenseless as he grabbed her cheer top and pulled her to sit up then punched her in the face. She cried out and tried to drag herself backwards.
Damon, leaving Elena's house, heard Katie's scream and whooshed over to her house. He let himself in and found her grandpa towering over Katie where she still half sat half laid on the floor. In a flash Damon grabbed Grandpa by the back of his shirt and flung him across the living room. "Damon?" Katie asked in confusion as he walked over and helped her up. "What are you doing here?" she asked clutching her stomach.
"Saving you." he popped off with a smirk then turned to Grandpa who was pulling himself up off the floor. "Now what should I do about you?" he asked as he sauntered over to the man and grabbed him by the neck of his shirt. He pulled him up from the ground and pinned him against the wall with his hand on his throat. "Should I...compel you?" He asked as Katie walked cautiously over to stand next to Damon. Grandpa gave her a pleading look. "Don't look at her, look at me." Grandpa moved his scared eyes back to Damon. "Maybe I should drain all the blood from your body then feed you to the wolves." He offered and Grandpa started crying. "Are you seriously crying?" Damon asked then looked at Katie to see her staring at him with worried eyes. "I got it," he looked back at Grandpa, "I'll snap your neck and throw you off the falls where no one will ever find your body." Damon smiled.
"Please..." Grandpa sobbed. "Please don't kill me."
"Oh, I see. So you can dish it out…but you can't take it?" Damon asked.
Katie, having seen enough, decided to put a stop to it and placed her hand on Damon's arm. Damon looked down at her hand on him and smiled. "As much as I would love to see you break his neck, I'm gonna opt for compulsion." Damon looked her in the eyes, finally seeing how scared she really was. "Please?" Damon seemed to be considering it. "If he dies I go into foster care until I'm eighteen, I don't want that. So please, just...don't kill him."
Damon frowned and wrinkled his nose. "Fine." He then looked at Grandpa and stared into his eyes. "You will never lay a hand on Katie again. Do you hear me?"
"I hear you." Grandpa answered flatly.
"You're also going to forget everything that happened here tonight." He added
"I will forget."
"Good." Damon set him down with a smile and patted him on the shoulders.
Katie sighed in relief and Damon walked over and motioned for her to go up the stairs. So she walked up and Damon followed her to her room, shutting the door behind him. "Thank you for that." Katie said with a grunt as she sat down on the bed and started taking the braids out of her hair.
"You're welcome." Damon sat down beside her and cupped her cheek in one hand as he pressed on her eye socket with the other making her wince. "It's not broken. What about your side?"
"It's fine." She pulled her hand away from her side and tried to sit up straight, but she hissed in pain.
"Liar." Damon told her with a tight lipped smile and a squint of an eye. "Lie down and let me take a look." He reached for the hem of her cheer top.
"I said I'm fine." She pulled away clearly uncomfortable with the idea of him seeing her stomach right now.
"Come on Katie cat, let me take a look." He tried using the pet name he knew she didn't like.
"Fine." She pulled her top off revealing the large spot on her right side that was already starting to turn purple and laid back on the twin sized bed with her head near the wall and her feet dangling off the side. "And don't call me that."
"That looks like it hurts." He commented as he turned toward her then started pressing around on her side. "So far it doesn't feel like you have any broken ribs."
"How can you tell?" She asked as watching him prod his slender fingers along each if her ribs.
"When you've been around as long as I have you pick up a few things along the way." He said still going over her ribs.
"How long have you… been around?" Katie asked cautiously.
"Sense June 18th 1839." He answered with a small smile.
"Wow, you are way too old for me." She joked with a smile. As he kept gently pressing along her ribs she got lost in thought. Without thinking of the possible consequences she asked. "Did you kill coach Tannor?"
"Mmhmm" he hummed as he finished up checking her ribs.
"Why?" she asked as she sat up and stood from the bed with a quiet grunt in pain.
"To prove a point." He answered as she walked over to her closet and pulled a black tank top off of a hanger.
"Yeah, and what point is that? That you're a murderous maniac with a soft spot for poor, abused teenaged girls?" she asked as she pulled the tank top over her head.
"You think I have a soft spot for you?" he asked challengingly, watching her take off her skirt, revealing really short, shiny black spanks.
"You traded sure thing sex with Caroline for virginal me." she said as she tossed the skirt into the dirty close hamper next to her full length mirror. "And you haven't compelled me that I now of. So what else could it be if not a soft spot?"
Damon just frowned and scratched the back of his head as she turned from him and grabbed a pair of athletic shorts out of her dresser. He didn't know what to say. Maybe he did have a soft spot for her.
"I knew what you were when I made this deal, but if I ask you to stop killing people…will you?" she asked as she turned to him and took her bloomers off.
"Oh jeeze…" he sighed as he laid back on her bed, tucking his hand under her pillow. "You're not gonna try to change me are you?"
"Just answer the question." She sighed as she pulled on the shorts.
"Probably not, no." he answered and she felt her nostrils flair. "Katie…" he drawled out her name. "Like you said, you knew what I am."
"I know, but that doesn't mean I have to like it or condone it." she grumbled as she walked over and straddled his stomach then fell to lay between him and the wall. Needing a change of subject she asked, "So are you going to the founder's party tomorrow?" she ran her hand up his chest and started unbuttoning his black shirt.
"Yep." He answered. "If I can find a new date. I was going to go with Caroline, but..." he finished with a closed lipped smile.
"Speaking of Caroline..." Katie reached over Damon and grabbed her phone off the night stand. "I need to talk to her."
"Why?" He asked watching her move around to lean against the wall and drape her toned legs over his still half dressed stomach.
"Because, she acted weird at the football game. She wasn't mad at me about the fight and she never mentioned you once. Normally she would've made snide comments and been whiny about getting dumped." Before she pressed call Damon took the phone from her. She looked at him, confused before she realized he looked guilty. "What did you do?"
"I may have compelled her to not be mad at you about the fight and to believe that me and her breaking up was a mutual decision." He said looking like he knew he was about to get hit then closed his eyes waiting for the blow to come. When he didn't get hit he cracked an eye open to see her glaring at him.
"Stop compelling Caroline." She practically growled as she sat up and threw a leg over him. She straddled him and leaned down bracing herself on her hands. "I know you did it for me and on one level I appreciate it, but I needed to apologize to her for my own benefit. I needed to talk things out with her…get back in a good place and now I can't because you brainwashed her." She said as she sat up and started unbuttoning the rest of the buttons on his shirt. "You need to let me handle my business my way."
"I'm sorry." He sighed.
"Are you really though?" She asked, running her hands up his chest, pushing his shirt out of the way.
"A little bit." He answered, surprising her. "I only did it because I really want you to be my date for the founder's party. And I knew after our conversation this morning that it wouldn't happen if Caroline was still pining after me." He watched Katie's hands slide back down his stomach and he sighed, liking her relaxing touch. "I did it for us." He placed his hands on her hips.
Katie grabbed the fabric of his shirt and jacket and pulled. He set up and started kissing her as she pushed the clothing off of him. He tossed it to the floor then grabbed her wrists, moved her arms up, pulled her shirt over her head and tossed it onto the pile. "Do me a favor and remember that just because you can compel someone," Damon pecked her on the lips, shutting her up for a second, "doesn't mean you should."
He kissed her then moved her around to lay on her back then started kissing her, but eventually Damon pulled away from her neck and asked, "Why haven't you ratted out Stefan and me?"
"Well, first of all you made me promise not to and I don't break promises and second if I ran shouting vampire through the streets people would think I've been smoking whatever Vicki's been smoking." She said with a small smile before she moved her eyes to watch her hands slide over the smooth skin of his shoulders and arms. "And maybe because as horrible of a decision it is for me to make because you have openly admitted to killing people, I like spending time with you." she said with a shrug of her shoulders. "And Stefan makes Elena happy." She didn't miss the way his face fell, just a bit at the mention of his brother and Elena. "But can I ask you something?" she asked and Damon gave her a nod. She was going to ask about why he didn't like his brother and Elena together but she changed her mind at the last second and instead asked, "Why do you even need a date to the founder's party? Is it really so bad if you go by yourself?"
"I haven't been in town long enough for that. I need to show up with someone the mayor knows lives here." He explained then noticed her indifferent look. "You don't want to go do you?"
"I do now." She said with a smile that said the direct opposite. "I hate parties. I don't even own a dress."
"Then we'll go in the morning and buy you a dress." He said as he slid his hands over the bare skin of her arms.
"We?" She asked with a laugh. "No. I can pick out my own dress."
"Come on, I'm good at picking out dresses." He complained. "Blue will look good on you."
"Then I will think about getting a blue one." She smiled then leaned in and pecked him on the lips. "I'll meet you at the party."
"Nope, I was raised better than that." He told her then started peppering her face and neck with kisses. "I'll meet you at your door and walk you to my car like a gentleman."
"The girls are meeting at Elena's to get ready. Pick me up there." She told him and when he opened his mouth to sat something she kissed him. He laughed into the kiss as he kissed her back, sliding his hand down her side to her thigh where he grabbed it and pulled it up and around him, digging his fingers into her outer thigh. "Damon." She sighed at the sensations he was sending through her body with his every touch.
He kissed his way up and down her body then sat up bringing her with him so that she was sitting in his lap with her legs wrapped around him. "I don't usually like to do this, but," he bit his wrist and put it in front of her face, "drink."
"Why?" she asked skeptically looking down at the red teeth marks on the under side of his wrist.
"Because I like you and you need it." he answered as he swept her hair to the side exposing her neck. "and I've been thinking about your neck all day." He admitted looking at the veins in her neck before he looked at her eyes to see a hint of fear in them. He brushed his fingers along her hairline then cupped her cheek in his hand. "If you drink my blood, your bruised ribs and face will heal, so will your neck." he brushed his hand down her face and over her neck as he pressed his lips to hers. She instantly relaxed into him as he kissed his way to her neck then up to her ear, "No one will know."
"Okay." She sighed as she held onto his shoulders.
"You sure?" he asked pulling back and moving his hand back to cup her cheek in his hand. As he looked into her eyes, making double sure she was fine with him biting her neck, he ran his thumb over her cheekbone.
"Yeah." She smiled and nodded. "I'm sure."
He looked at his wrist to see that the bite he had made before had already healed. "Take more than you did last time. As sexy as it was… just licking it won't be enough." He bit his wrist and held it up to her lips. She smiled at him and licked it before she closed her lips over the bite and sucked. He placed his hand on her neck and slid it down over her shoulder, then down her arm. A sigh left her lips as he started kissing her neck, nibbling and sucking as he slid his hand into hers, threading their fingers together. She took her lips from his wrist. "Nu uh, more." He put his wrist back up to her lips.
When she started sucking on his wrist again, he sank his teeth into her neck. A small whimper vibrated his wrist and she squeezed his hand. After a few seconds he pulled his wrist away from her and laid her back, keeping one of her legs wrapped around him as he did. "God, Damon." Hearing her moan his name like that really got him wound up and he grinded his hips into her to show her exactly how she was affecting him. She moaned and slid her hand that had been gripping his back slid up and grabbed his hair, giving it a soft tug.
He realized how long he had actually been drinking from her then and when he stopped she sighed and the bite disappeared. "Do you know how crazy you make me?" he asked, grinding his hips into her as he kissed up her jaw line then rested his forehead on hers and looked into her eyes.
"Pretty sure the feelings mutual." She smiled then pecked him on the lips as he smiled at her.
"How do you feel?" he asked looking at her neck where the bite mark would've been.
"Good." She looked down to see that her side was healed and when he ran his hand over her ribs, knowing what she was looking at, there was no pain. "Really good, actually." She said with a smile. "And happy." She added as he moved off of her, falling to lay between her and the wall.
"That's my blood." He told her sliding his hand over her body, absentmindedly. "It get's you really happy and healthy, but…"
"You crash after it makes it's way out of your system." She finished and he nodded, thinking about something, Katie grabbed her phone off of the nightstand. She intended on calling Elena and letting her know she had decided to go to the party, but it was too late to call. She was looking for Elena's number and had scrolled too far when she saw that Damon had added his number to her phone and she started laughing. "The Hotter Salvatore Brother?" Damon smiled his cocky smile. "Yeah, I'm changing that."
"Nope." Damon took the phone from her hand and hid it behind his back. "The name stays." She laughed and tried to grab the phone but he moved it out of reach. So she pressed her lips to his, trying to replicate her strategy from this morning, running her hands down his chest to grip his hip as she rolled onto her side and pulled him into her. "That's not gonna work you know." He said when she started kissing his neck, pulling a sigh from him, "but don't let me stop you from trying."
She sighed and pulled away from him. "Fine." She settled for lying on her side with her head resting on his arm. "I need to know what to tell my friends tomorrow when they find out you're my date." She said as she rolled over and stared at the ceiling, hoping that Caroline would be okay with it.
"Well, I'm your date so I'd say we're dating." He answered placing his finger on her chin to turn her face to him.
"Okay." She sighed accepting it for now. "Can I have my cell phone back now?"
He reached behind him and picked up the cell phone and handed it to her, but when she tried to take it he pulled it back. "Leave the name." he told her making her smile.
"Okay." She sighed. "The name stays."
He gave her back her phone and she set an alarm to wake herself up in the morning then turned back to Damon. They spent the rest of the night making out and having fun until they fell asleep tangled in each others arms.