The Night of the Comet

Bright sunlight woke me up the next morning, and I rolled around in bed, happy it was Saturday and therefore not a school day. I stretched a little and quickly got up. It was the perfect weather for a jog and I missed the exercise.

Once outside, I put my earbuds in and just ran, enjoying the warmth of the sun and the nice breeze, not paying attention to where I was going. But as I jogged the events of the last few days circled in my head, the couple, the party, Vicki, Duke, Stefan, Damon… There was something I missed, I could feel it. Something wasn't quite right. I tried my best to clear my head of these thoughts, not wanting to spoil my good mood, but they clung at the back of my throat like a bad aftertaste.

Before I really noticed it, my feet had brought me to Matt's street. Just as fate had it, I saw him coming out of his house, greeting me with a wave as he saw me. I crossed the street to meet him, smiling back and taking my earbuds out.

"Hey Matt, what's up?"

"I'm taking Vicki home," he says his eyes lighting up. "She's getting released this morning."

"That's amazing!" I said genuinely happy for him, gently touching his arm. "Will she be able to go to the Night of the Comet tonight?"

"Yeah, she should be fine, as long as she doesn't rip open her stitches," Matt said smiling. "You're back to running, I see?"

"Nothing better to clear one's head," I said shrugging. "I'll see you and Vicki later then?"

"Sure, see you," he said before climbing into his car and driving off.

My smile fell as he turned the corner. Butterflies or not, I knew I'd only ever be a friend to him, a little sister at best, and it hurt like hell. Before I could wallow in sadness I put my earbuds back in and continued my run.

I arrived home a little later and went straight into the shower. After coming back out and getting dressed I walked back down to the first floor to see my dad's small suitcase by the stairs.

"Ah, there you are," Dad said as he came out of the kitchen, his lab coat hanging over his arm. "I need to go back upstate, there's a problem at the lab."

"Aren't you staying for the comet?" I asked a little disappointed that he was going away again.

He looked at me apologetically. "I'm sorry, sweetheart. But they need me. I'll still be able to see it, though, don't worry. I'll be back before you know it."

I grunted slightly. He always said that and he always took longer than expected up there. I sat on the sofa, moping, and watched him as he moved around the house, grabbing stuff he needed while looking at his watch every other second.

"Lorraine, dear, can you do me a favor? Zach has prepared something that I need before going. Can you head up to the boarding house to get it? You can take my car."

"Sure," I sighed, catching the car keys he threw me.

"Thanks!"

The drive to the Salvatore's was short and I couldn't help but experience a déjà-vu as I jumped out of the car and went up to the door for the second time in two days. I knocked and almost expected Damon Salvatore to open the door, but it was a rather surprised-looking Stefan.

"Hi!" I said in greeting.

"Hi," Stefan answered hesitantly. "Are there still quest-"

"No, don't worry," I quickly said to reassure him. "My dad sends me, apparently Zach has something for him?"

"Oh," Stefan said looking relieved, "of course, would you like to come in while I look for him?"

Stefan opened the door a little wider.

"Thank you," I said as I stepped into the hallway of the beautiful mansion. I'd already been here a few times, but it still impressed me.

"You can wait in the living room," Stefan said pointing to the large room at the end of the corridor. "I'll be right back."

I nodded and strolled to the living room, admiring the beautiful antiques that were scattered across the house. The size of the room stunned me once again, it was something from another time for sure. The wooden panels on the walls, the antique furniture, and emblems, the gallery above… It looked strange and homey all at once.

I turned around to see more of the room but almost collided with a familiar face.

"Damon!" I gasped, almost tumbling down, but he reached out and steadied me with a strong grip.

"Lorraine Tate," he said, my name rolling off his tongue in an almost seductive way, his head tilting to the side, a playful gleam in his eyes.

Once I was stable again he let go of me, eyeing me curiously, an amused expression on his face.

"What a lovely surprise, seeing you back here so soon. Are you still looking for my dear brother?"

I could sense a sourness in Damon's words when he mentioned Stefan, but thought it best to keep it to myself.

"No, I saw him yesterday, thanks again for telling him, by the way," I answered looking around to the corridor. "I came to see Zach, Stefan is getting him for me right now."

"Oh!" Damon mouthed, his eyebrows rising in surprise. "And what can uncle Zach do for a young lady like yourself?"

He stared at me intently. His bright eyes seemed to pierce through me and I couldn't help but stare back, as his gaze was almost hypnotizing.

"I… I-"

"Damon!" I could hear Stefan's voice behind me, a hint of scolding in it. Damon looked past me, an annoyed expression in his eyes breaking the ban he had over me.

"Brother, uncle Zach," he said, his voice sweet. "I was just getting to know dear Lorraine, here."

He looked back at me and gave me a small wink. Taking a step back, he grabbed my hand and placed a light kiss on the back of it.

"It was a pleasure," he whispered before addressing his family members again. "There's something I need to take care of in town, I'll see you tonight."

He walked around me a grabbed a leather jacket, that was lying on a chair, and headed out, the door slamming shut behind him.

Stefan took a step towards me, a worried look on his face. "Are you alright?"

I paused for a second collecting my thoughts. The encounter with Damon was definitely something else, and I didn't really know what to think of it. It sure was weird, and also a bit creepy, but there was a part of me, that couldn't help but think that it was kind of hot.

"Uhm, yeah…" I answered. "Your brother can be quite intense."

"Yes…yes he can," Stefan murmured pulling his lips into a hard line.

"Why don't you come with me, Lorraine," Zach spoke up, drawing my attention to him for the first time today. "I've got what you need in the study."

I nodded and followed him to the small cramped room, that was Zach's study. On his desk was a plethora of papers, newspaper cuttings, and even what looked like police files. Among all these was a small little package, wrapped in brown paper and tied with a string.

"What's all this?" I asked curiously as I tried to decipher what was written on the newspaper clippings.

"Just research," Zach said quickly tidying up a little bit. "That's for you."

He handed me the small package, it was just the size of my hand.

"What is in there?" I asked weighing the package, despite its size, it was still heavier than the larger box my dad made me pick up the last time.

"It's a plant concentrate I prepared for your dad," Zach answered smiling. His gaze wandered to the bracelet Dad gave me. "That's a pretty piece of jewelry."

"Thanks!" I said smiling. "It belonged to my mom."

"Can I see it?" he asked, looking intrigued.

I stretched my arm out so he could get a closer look. He seemed particularly interested in the flower-shaped locket.

"It's really an exquisite piece," he said with a smile. "It's probably as old as the town itself. These lockets were used for good luck and protection, back in the old days."

"Yeah, my dad mentioned something like that," I said smiling. "I better not take it off then."

"Yes, that would be wise," Zach said chuckling, although the smile didn't reach his eyes.

After giving Dad the package we only had a quick meal before he had to go.

"Promise you'll be careful," he said halfway out of the door. "No walking home alone at night and no inviting strangers in. You hear me?"

I couldn't help but roll my eyes, I was 17 for Christ's sake, I wasn't a child anymore.

"Yes, Dad, don't worry."

He quickly waved me goodbye and climbed into his car, driving away. I closed the door with a sigh. I had hoped he'd stay a little longer this time.

Taking out my phone, I dialed Bonnie's number, she answered on the second ring.

"I hope you're not calling to cancel on us tonight, are you?" she said, a smile in her voice.

"No, no, don't worry!" I said, laughing. "My dad just bailed on me tonight, something for work, which means I'm a ride short."

"Your dad still doesn't want you to walk, huh?"

"Yeah, but after what happened to Vicki, and given how close I live to the forest I'm not that comfortable either," I sighed, looking out the window towards the tree line. "I'm just glad I'm getting my car back next week, so I don't have to bother you anymore."

"You're not a bother, Lorraine. Of course, I'll take you home tonight. We're looking out for each other, that's what friends do!"

"Thanks," I said a small smile on my face. "I'll see you later then."

I proceeded to get ready for the afternoon and evening by changing and doing my hair and make-up. I had to work around the bruises but still ended up satisfied with my look. Before long it was time to go and so I grabbed my phone and keys and headed out to the town square.

Caroline and Bonnie were already there, talking and handing out a few flyers.

"Hey!" I said when I joined them. Caroline promptly handed me a big stack of flyers.

"Have you seen Elena?" She asked me while looking around, her foot tapping impatiently.

"No, but I'm sure she'll be here soon," I said while rearranging the flyers so they were easier to hold. "Nice to see you too, by the way."

Caroline turned to me with a big smile on her face. "Yeah! Listen, guys, I'm going to get over there to hand out the rest of my flyers. Can you give Elena her share when she arrives, Bonnie?"

"Sure," Bonnie said taking the stack of flyers Caroline reached out to her.

"Great, talk to you later!"

I watched her go and shook my head in exasperation.

"You know I love her, but sometimes I could just strangle her…"

Bonnie laughed at my comment. It was a feeling she knew all too well.

"So you got the place all to yourself for a few days again?" Bonnie said with a mischievous grin.

"What exactly are you planning?" I answered, a grin appearing on my face too. It did have its perks that my dad was away a lot.

"I'm here! Sorry, I'm late!"

I turned and saw Elena jogging towards us.

"It's fine, don't worry," Bonnie said smiling.

She then handed Elena a stack of papers and we walked towards the park, handing out flyers to passersby.

"He didn't call, huh?" Bonnie asked Elena who sighed.

"Or text… But then I realized we never even exchanged that stuff. We've never gotten to the texting part."

I looked confused between my two friends, I didn't quite manage to follow.

"What happened, did I miss something?"

"It's Stefan," Elena said sighing, handing out another flyer. "When I got there yesterday, I met his brother, Damon, which I didn't even know existed before that-"

"Ah yes, Damon… he's quite something", I muttered, earning the surprised look of my friends.

"Wait, you know about Damon?" Elena asked, almost accusingly.

"No- well, yes… I just met him myself. My dad asked me to get a package from Zach Salvatore this morning before he went away," I explained. "Did he not once mention his brother when you two talked for hours on end?"

"No, he didn't," Elena answered sourly. "And Damon told me about Stefan's ex, Katherine… It seemed like he almost enjoyed messing with me and Stefan."

"Did you get a chance to talk to Stefan about all this?"

"Nope. Stefan arrived shortly after, but he was totally weird, had an angry stare down with his brother, and practically kicked me out."

I could hear that she was angry and hurt, and I could definitely understand why.

"Timing was wrong anyway," she said, her tone giving away she already gave up.

"When is it ever right?" Bonnie intervened.

"I'm not ready, Bonnie."

"Who is?" Bonnie countered, clearly not letting this go.

"At least I did put myself out there," Elena answered defensively.

"Is that what you're calling it?" Bonnie asked, raising an eyebrow.

"What do you mean?"

"All I'm hearing is reasons why you can't," Bonnie explained and she was right.

I parted from the group soon afterward. Being three at one spot wasn't very effective when it came to handing out flyers and I wanted to be done with it already to be able to enjoy the evening. I looked enviously over to Caroline who was finished and was talking to some people from school.

"Tonight, Night of the Comet! Would you like a program?" I asked a passing family and tried to hand them some, but they just ignored me and walked past me.

"I'd like one!"

I flinched at the voice that came from directly behind me and turned around to face Damon of all people.

"Damon," I breathed out, my heart still beating fast from the scare.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to frighten you," he said apologetically, but a little smirk on his lips made me believe that he intended just that.

"It's ok, don't worry," I said shrugging my shoulders, feeling a little squeamish under his stare. Seriously what was up with that, does he just stare at everyone like that?

"Well, can I get one?"

I blinked a few times. "I'm sorry… one what?"

Damon raised his eyebrows at me, his eyes darting to my hands. "A program."

I mentally slapped myself and handed him a flyer. "Of course, sorry…"

Great! That was just what I needed right now, letting Damon know just how much he flustered me.

"Thanks…" he drawled out looking briefly at the content before putting it in a pocket inside his leather jacket. "Fascinating. You know, now that I think of it, we didn't get to finish our conversation this morning. So what did bring you to my house this morning?"

There it was again, this hypnotizing stare of his. Wait, are his pupils dilating?

"Is everything ok? Your, erm… eyes…the pupils…"

Damon blinked a couple of times and rubbed his fingers over his eyes.

"Yes, they tend to do that sometimes."

He looked back up and eyed me curiously, but there was some agitation in him that I didn't quite understand.

"Excuse me," he said suddenly and walked away quickly. I furrowed my brows and watched him disappear. I really couldn't figure him out at all.

I managed to hand out the rest of the programs rather quickly after that and could enjoy the rest of the afternoon with my friends. It was really good being able to catch up with Elena too. Since I've been back I haven't managed to have a heart to heart with her at all, and I've missed it terribly. I told her about Nathan, as she hadn't heard the story yet and it managed to take her mind off of the Stefan situation, at least for a bit.

"You know, it just makes me wonder…If he held back about this, what else is he hiding?" Elena said and took a sip from her drink. We had camped inside the Grill until it would be dark enough outside to see the comet.

"Maybe he didn't mean to hide it from you," I tried to soothe her. "When we asked about any siblings he said ‚None that I talk to'. Maybe something happened between them that he is not ready to share yet… I mean, in all honesty, you barely know him. Give him time."

"I don't know…" Elena replied. "I'm not sure if I'm ready to get this much emotionally invested if it starts like this."

I could really feel for Elena. It was not an easy situation to deal with, and starting any relationship with trust issues was never a good idea.

The door opened and I saw Bonnie walking towards us.

"Elena, Lorraine! You can already see the comet outside, come on!"

A.N: Sorry for the long wait, life's been a bit hectic. I hope you enjoyed this chapter that had a little more Damon in it! If you like it or have any suggestions, consider leaving a review!