Chapter 1

Following the scent towards a clearing in the woods, Damon closed his eyes as the tempting aroma filled him. He could admit he had never smelt anything quite as appetising before, it was mouthwatering. The scent belonged to a young girl who was sat in the middle of the clearing on a checkered blanket.

Her long blonde hair danced in the soft breeze. From her seated position he could tell even standing up she wouldn't be tall. He couldn't see her face but Damon could sense she would be beautiful. She had a guitar out, resting on her thighs, as she strummed the strings. Her case was resting peacefully on the ground.

Making his way out from the shadows of the trees he approached the girl who hadn't sensed him near. Her head snapped up when he circled around her so they faced each other, and he was correct; she was indeed beautiful. She couldn't be more than twenty-two, with pale skin and blue eyes flecked with green.

Her eyes seemed to scan him, but not in a way he was used to be looked at by women. They usually gave him appreciated glances, telling him they liked what they saw. However, this girl was differnt as she seemed to be scanning him in a more inquisitive manner.

"Hello." He said softly, not wanting to scare her away right away. She was beautiful, he could have some fun with her first. "Can I join you?" The girl seemed hesitant but finally relented, allowing him to sit beside her. She put her guitar away. "The names Damon."

"Emma." she replied quietly, tucking some hair behind her ear. It seemed such an innocent gesture that he found himself reacting quite strongly to it. Clearing his throat he motioned to the stringed instrument.

"How long have you played for?"

"Since I was ten." Her answer was short, and Damon found himself frowning. This didn't usually happen. Girls were usually flirty, shy and giggly around him. Why was she different? He spent the next few minutes trying to get her to warm to him but when he casually touched her leg she quickly moved it from his reach.

Clearly there was no fun to be had here. He wasn't in the habit of sleeping with women who didn't want it. There was no fun to be had there, but at least he still had a meal to enjoy. Without wasting a second he pushed her to the ground and sunk his teeth into her neck. Her skin was very soft, he mused as he drank. Would have been nice to have had fun with this one, she felt quite nice beneath him.

Surprisingly she wasn't screaming. She was silent, moving a little as he continued his ministrations. He heard her heart slow until soon it stopped completely. Pulling back, Damon stared down at the lifeless girl under him. She was so beautiful he almost felt guilty. Almost. Pushing some of her hair from her face, he cupped her cheek for a second before standing.

His work here was done.

"Don't worry, Zach." Stefan sighed as he entered the kitchen, the younger man following behind him.

"How can I not?" Zach scoffed as Stefan grabbed something from the fridge. "You don't usually stay here for an extended period of time."

"This is my home." Stefan replied shortly.

"I know, and I'm not saying you're not welcome it's just... with you comes the other." Zach sighed and fell into one of the stools by the island. "I just don't want Damon turning up because he somehow hears you're here. I don't like him, I don't trust him and he always causes trouble."

"I know, but I doubt Damon is going to come here right now." Stefan consoled. Zach shook his head in disbelief. If Damon heard his brother was staying permanently in Mystic Falls, Zach had no doubt in his mind that the older brother would show up at some point just to mess with him some more. They said no more on the subjct, as really there was no more than could be said.

Either Damon was going to show up or he wasn't, but Zach had this awful feeling the eldest Salvatore's arrival would be soon and everything was going to get messy.

Damon couldn't believe what he was seeing. It was impossible. Stealthily he followed the girl as she walked down the street. The sky was dark but she walked down the street without a care in the world. As though she was untouchable, and maybe she was, Damon thought, because he had killed her the morning before.

He knew she had died, he heard her heart stop beating. He left her drained in the middle of the woods, so how could she be walking down the street the next day very clearly alive and well?

He followed her all the way to her home. She lived alone apparently. The upstairs light turned on and Damon was happy to note there was a very large tree placed conviently outside her window. Climbing up he watched as she stripped off her clothes until she was in nothing but her underwear.

Hmm, definitely would have been nice to play with this one, Damon though lustfully, she had a good body. Clearly she worked out and kept in shape. That wasn't a naturally slim body from a fast metabolism, she was toned.

She, Emma, wrapped a dressing gown around her body before she walked over to the window and shut the curtains. As she did so, Damon could have sworn she had muttered the word 'perv'.

Moving down the stairs, Emma brushed her hair out of her eyes as she opened the door to reveal one Caroline Forbes. The other blonde had a big smile on her face and wrapped Emma in a large hug.

"Nice to see you too Caroline." Emma laughed as the other girl skipped uninvited inside her home. "What can I do for you?"

"Okay, so this isn't a social call." Caroline stated seriously, making Emma frown. "It's a business one."

"You don't usually do deals with me." she pointed out.

"No, but I'm the only one who can. No one else knows." Caroline rebuttled. "It's not for me anyways, it's for someone else."

"And who is that?"

"Elena."

"Elena? What could she possibly want?" Emma asked.

"Nothing, it's what I want for her." Carolien informed her as they moved to settle on the couch. "She still isn't coping very well, for obvious reasons, and I was hoping you could help with that."

"You want me to take her pain away?"

"No, no." Caroline shook her head, blonde waves flying everywhere. "Just help her cope better. School starts soon and I wouldn't want her to turn up on the first day an emotional wreck."

"You know how my deals work, Caroline." Emma said softly. Caroline's eyes softened.

"I know, and I'm willing to take the risks."

"You're a very good friend, Caroline Forbes." Said girl just smiled as she waited. "If you're willing then fine, we have a deal."

"Oh, thank you!" She gushed and she pulled the small blonde into a bear hug that almost left Emma breathless. Emma hated making deals, she could refuse but some people were stubborn and if they were willing to gamble then who was she to deny them? She just hoped nothing bad happened to Caroline.

Later that day there was a knocking on the door causing Emma to sigh and put her guitar away. Heading downstairs she opened the door just as the knocking restarted. She came face to face with the dark haired man who had tried to kill her two night previous.

"What the hell are you?" He demanded.

"I don't think you are in any position to question me, Mr Vampire." Emma said mockingly as she folded her arms across her chest. "Thanks for trying to kill me by the way."

"I did kill you." he said through gritted teeth. Emma was sure his annoyance came from not being able to enter her home and he was now stood just outside her front door.

"Clearly not, Dracula." Emma laughed. "Look, what do you want?"

"To know what you are, you clearly aren't human." Damon replied.

"Yeah, I don't think I'm going to tell you."

"Why not? You know what I am. Fair is fair." Damon replied almost childishly.

"Well, you gave that information up when you feasted on me like a starving man." Emma scoffed, hand now holding the door.

"Not my fault you taste better than a regular human. I wasn't expecting it." Damon spat, shoving his hands in his jacket packets. This was going nowhere, he thought grumpily. He wanted to wipe the stupid smug look off her face right now but couldn't. He hadn't been invited in.

"Maybe if you buy me dinner first I'll let you inside." Emma purred with a wink. Then shut the door in his face leaving Damon stunned. He was sure that was an innuendo and the more literal term for the house. Damon liked the innuendo one better.