The next day was an odd one. First, it was getting fairly depressing for Emily at college. She didn't know what was wrong, but she was suddenly really bad at making friends.

Then there was Jenna, who had been called for a parent-teacher conference about Jeremy with Mr. Tanner, who Emily remembered to be an ass.

Jenna came home quite stressed from the conversation she'd had with him. He was quite rude, and disrespectful to her position as their guardian. He said that Jeremy skipped six classes since the start of school, and stated that he was probably in use of drugs.

Emily took all this in, and assured Jenna that she was doing fine, and that they all should get a little tougher on Jer.

Then there was what happened with Elena. She'd gone over to Stefan's, and was met by his brother instead, who said some fairly stunning things.

He told her that Stefan had just been out of a serious relationship with a woman named Kathrine, and that he probably hadn't told her because he was afraid she'd think he was on rebound.

Then Stefan interrupted that conversation, and thanked Elena for coming over, as in 'leave', which sorta hurt her feelings, especially when he continued to glare at his brother, and spoke no more, till she left.

Hearing this, Emily was quite confused herself. She'd met Stefan, and she'd told Elena about her meeting with Damon at the Grill. Both men seemed nice enough. She couldn't see why their feud would be as raging as her sister expressed it to be. But Elena wasn't one to exaggerate. Emily believed her.

Nevertheless, she told Elena what Damon had told her about Stefan, as Damon had hoped she would.

Though this did little to reassure Elena, it was important she had all the pieces.

XXX

With everything that had happened, an event was occurring that was bound to unite everyone once more.

Emily drove her siblings off to the town square to witness the passing of the comet with their friends.

Despite Elena's persistent inviting to stay, Emily let them be, and made her way to the Mystic Grill. She parked and discreetly climbed up to the rooftop.

Emily couldn't quite explain why she enjoyed being by herself at most. Maybe it was the constant feeling of being misunderstood, of the inability to connect to anyone on a personal level, of feeling as though everyone around her was concerned with nothing but the silliest of what life had to offer.

The passing of her parents affected her greatly. Nothing small shone as bright any more. There was no light. The only light she ever saw was in the honest smiles of her loving siblings, and even that was rare.

It hurt. It sucked.

As she stood leaning against the fence, drink in hand and eyes fixated on the hasting ball of light that set course to an unknown destination.

In that sole moment, when watching something as wondrous, as beautiful as such an occurrence, that little ball of light swimming admits an ocean of darkness…she felt hope.

She smiled.

Only when hearing the faint sound of footsteps did she turn in caution to face the intruder.

"Easy there, tiger. It's just me," he drew, smirking as he approached her side.
"Damon," she smiled knowingly. "What're you doing here?" she asks.
"Figured you could use some company," he shrugs, honest for once, even if he only came out of boredom. Wouldn't sit in the house forever. "Unless you're trying to avoid people. In that case, I can go," he started coyly, luring her in for the sake of game.
"No. Stay," she dismissed humorously. He smirked as she offered him a bottle. He took it graciously and popped it open.

"So, where're your perky college pals?" he asks curiously. Emily inhales tensely, taking another sip. She hums thoughtfully for an appropriate answer.
"I'm sort of a lone wolf…I like to hang by myself," she tells, casually shrugging. Damon nods.
"Who needs people, right?"
"Yeah," she smiles in agreement.

Besides the fact that the Salvatore actually disliked people, he was well-aware that her reasoning was different. It's not a matter of want for her, it's a matter of ability. She can't deal with people, and covering it up by 'lone wolf' both impressed him, and made him consider her pathetic.

Humans and their emotions. Like they knew anything.

Whilst he grimaced at the idea of being human, and attempted to analyze why in the world his brother would want to be one, Emily's thoughts rolled back to the conversation she'd had with Elena the day before, about the odd incident with Stefan and Damon.

She might as well attempt to figure it out then.

"Elena told me you and her met yesterday," she starts. Damon turns to her, processing her words. He hides a smirk at the mischief he'd caused that day.

"Uh, yeah. Great girl. Really polite. Almost as pretty as you," he smirks. Emily cocks a 'seriously?' eyebrow at his flirt-attempt. He gazed at her intently, and she looked away, shaking her head in amusement, but mainly attempting to hide her foolish blushing.

She brushed it off.

"She told me about Kathrine," Emily continues. Damon's face falls slightly at the name, but upon remembering that he was using that topic to get to Stefan, he finds it in him to resume the act.

"In my defense, I honestly didn't know Stefan hadn't told her. And I got the feeling I made things pretty awkward," he winces.
"You did," Emily nods. "She told me…how Stefan reacted. It's must have been bad. How exactly did things end between them?" she asks.

Damon grimaces.

"…She died," he says, stunning the Gilbert beside him. Emily is unable to comprehend what he'd just said. "In a fire. Tragic fire…," he continued absently, caressing the bottle in his hand tensely.
"…Recently?" Emily inquires, fairly worried now.

Damon turns to her, fabricating an appropriate lie. "Seems like it was yesterday," he smiles in dismiss. Maybe it was a lie for Stefan…but it wasn't for him.

And, the thing was…Emily could see it.

There was only one way to figure out what she'd started to suspect.

"What was she like?" Emily asks. Damon turns to her once more. He couldn't remember the last time, or if he was ever, asked that question.

Talking about her. He wasn't sure that that was something he wanted to do…but he did anyways.

He took a moment to collect his thoughts, and Emily waited patiently.

The soft breeze of the cool wind continued to float about them like a coat of water. The comet alight in the distance, and stars sprinkled across a blanket of ink in the sky. The moon shone down like spotlight on the town of Mystic Falls and all its residence.

It was quiet, it was peaceful, it paved a smooth path for thoughts to rise, and memories to return.

Damon spoke.

"She was beautiful," he started. He felt his chest grow heavy, and so his mind looked for a counter. He turned to Emily. "A lot like you, in that department," he told. She smirked in flattery.

He turned away once more, in deep thought, though his words were quick, as if he was attempting to rip off a bandage. "She was also very complicated, and selfish. And at times, not very kind…But very sexy and seductive," he smirked once more.

That was all Emily needed to hear to confirm her suspicions.

The Gilbert nods in thought. She hums. "So…which one of you dated her first?" she asked coyly. Damon stared blankly at her for a minute,

then chuckled.

"Nicely deduced," he tells. "…My answer differs from Stefan's," he simply gave, shaking his head in dismiss.

Emily studies him carefully. For the first time since meeting Damon, she could see raw emotions mirrored across his face, and she could see how hard he tried to hide them,

like she ever so often did herself.

"I'm sorry," she utters. He turns to her, fairly confused, and about to ask 'what for'. "About Kathrine," Emily states. Damon attempts to process her intention, which seemed unclear for some reason. "You lost her too," Emily tells seriously.

Damon was left baffled by her words. He could hear her heartbeats, read her face.

She meant it.

She actually did.

She wasn't just saying it.

She meant it.

The words she'd said were one's he'd never heard.

She made him feel something no one had for a long time, she made him feel like he had the right to grief.

Damon notes he'd been quiet for almost a minute, whilst she was busy admiring his features, and those gorgeous, blue eyes.

He smiles at her in gratitude, and looks away once more. They stand in silence for several minutes, enjoying the quiet, and the strange comfort of each other's company.

Then Emily excuses herself to the bathroom, and Damon heads down with her to order a stronger drink at the bar.

That was when he came across Vicki.

XXX

After exiting the bathroom, Emily is unable to find Damon, and when she gets a call from her sibling that they couldn't find Vicki, and asked if she'd seen her, Emily said that she hadn't, but that she'd help look for her.

After spending several minutes asking about her in the Grill, she exited through the back door, assuming Vicki would be some place as such.

She eyes about, sees no sign of her, then heads to look elsewhere.

Turning a corner, she collides harshly with someone, nearly stumbling to fall when she was held back in place.

Her eyes catch sight of who it was, and she sighs in relief. "Damon," she breathes.
"Hey, you okay?" he smirks at her jump.
"Yeah," she nods as he lets her go. "I lost you back there, Where'd you go?" she asks curiously.
"Oh. I…had a run in with Stefan," he says, feigning sorrow.
"That bad?" she winces.
"It's…a work in progress," he tells. She nods doubtfully.

Emily gets a text saying that they'd found Vicki and were ready to go. She furrows her eyebrows at that. Already?

"What's wrong?" Damon asks suspiciously.
"Elena says she wants to leave," she states worriedly.
"Why? Did something happen?"
"I'm not sure…But, I have to go," she smiles in apology. Damon nods in understanding. Then he gets a thought.

The night before, he'd attacked a reckless couple in the woods. Word was spreading that danger was evident in Mystic Falls, even though it was just him.

For example, when they'd just thought Vicki was missing, she'd actually been kidnapped by Damon to attract Stefan's attention. A soft attempt at getting him to feed.

Emily was right the night before, by pushing too hard, Stefan fought back, so, Damon took a step back, and let it slide…This time.

Anyways, he'd been considering how to get closer to the Gilberts. This was his next step.

"I'll walk you," he tells. She nods happily as they stroll down the streets to the town square. "So, I don't mean to sound weird or anything, but," he hands her a small piece of paper with his number on it. He explains. "There's been a lot of recent attacks in Mystic Falls lately. Chaos usually serves as a good decoy for someone who wants to cause real trouble. If something ever happens. Give me a call. I'll be there," he tells seriously, surprised he was able to keep a straight face.

Emily processes his words, then turns to him graciously. She smiles brightly, innocently mistaking his lie for truth.

"I appreciate your concern, Damon. But don't worry, I'm very capable of taking care of myself, and my family. I have quite the bit of training," she says dismissively. He furrows his eyebrows at that.
"Really?" he asks.
"Yeah, I-"
"Emily," Elena calls, approaching her sister with Jeremy.

She notes Damon, and tenses. Jeremy is indifferent.

"Damon," she utters, more, questions. Jeremy studies Damon, as if sizing him up.

Emily notes the distress in her sister's eyes. Seems things with Stefan were still sour.

"Hello, Elena," Damon smiles softly. Elena smiles back reluctantly. He notes the younger Gilbert. "And you must be Jeremy," Damon says, stretching out his hand. "Stefan's brother." Jeremy, who seemed in a daze, took his hand weirdly.

Damon could clearly see the effect of alcohol or whatever the kid took on him. He feels the slightest ping of sympathy for Emily, and disgust with Jeremy.

Nevertheless, Emily is fairly content with Damon's politeness, and thought him all the more enticing. But noting how uncomfortable, for different reasons, her siblings seemed, she breaks off the awkwardness with a simple question.

"We ready to go?" she asks. Elena turns to her as if in relief.
"Yeah," she utters.

They say their goodbyes and leave.

"What were you doing with Damon?" Elena asks her sibling suspiciously. Emily's heart jumps. Jeremy grins from the back seat, and scoots forward, placing his head in the space between them.
"Yeah, Emily. What were you doing with the other Salvatore brother?" he questions in amusement.
"Seriously?" Emily asks irritably. Elena smirks. "We were just talking," she says.
"That's what me and Stefan were doing last night," Elena notes.
"Okay, not that kinda talk," Emily says firmly. Elena grins. "We were talking about…Kathrine," Emily states warily. Elena's face falls.
"Who's Katherine?" Jeremy asks in confusion.
"Stefan's ex…and apparently, Damon's too," Emily explains weirdly. They furrow their eyebrows at her.
"What do you mean?" Elena asks.
"Threesome!" Jeremy exclaims.
"Jeremy!" both girls shout in unison. He simply giggles in reply, moving back to pull out his earphones. Emily turns her attention back to her sister.
"One of them dated her before the other. Damon didn't give me a definite answer…the point is…she died."
"…What?" Elena utters.
"In a fire. Now, the reason I'm telling you this, is because…I want you to reconsider your reluctance about the situation. I want you to talk to Stefan…" Emily tells.

Elena takes a moment to process the information heavily.

Several minutes of silence pass. When Emily is about to take a turn to their house, Elena stops her, requesting she be taken to Stefan's…and Emily complies.

XXX

As Emily drives home with Jeremy, he sits in the back, frustration bubbling in his chest at what he'd seen.

Vicki kissing Tyler.

It seemed, no matter what he did, he'd never win her, and he couldn't understand why.

Emily notes his tense face as he stared out the window. She pushes her hand back to poke his knee. He takes his speakers off and turns to her.

"What?" he asks.
"You okay?" she retorts worriedly.
"…I'm fine," he replies, about to put them back on.
"Hey. No. Wait…Talk to me," Emily insists. Jeremy sighs.
"What do you wanna talk about?" he asks tiredly.
"…Vicki," she replies. Jeremy glares at her as if in offense. "We shouldn't chase after those who don't appreciate us, Jer," she tells.

She, of course, had picked up on what had been going on between them through the summer. The late phone-calls, the sneaking out, the weird glances in public.

But then she'd see Vicki with Tyler, and she'd watch her brother's face fall with sadness more than anger.

She didn't want that for him.

But she wasn't stupid. She wasn't clueless. What the heart wanted, wasn't something one could so easily shut away. It took time. Acceptance, as a first step, was the most difficult.

"…I don't wanna talk about it," he tells firmly. Emily exhales. Her features calm. One step at a time.
"Fine. How about you tell me which flavor ice-cream to buy this time, cause I'm confused," she smirks. Jeremy shakes his head in amusement. What would he do without her?

XXX

Emily and Jeremy enter the house. Jenna wasn't home yet. The two separate to their rooms exhausted, even though it hadn't been that long of a night.

As Emily undresses, she hears the crunching of paper in her jacket pocket. Furrowing her eyebrows, she pushes her hand in, and pulls out a small piece of paper, with Damon's number on it.

A look of realization crosses her face, she smiles.

Sitting on the bed with phone and paper in hand, she debated calling him as he'd requested.

Was she nervous? She thought that silly. But she was.

She shouldn't. They were friends. Well, more acquaintances. Their siblings were getting together. That didn't mean they should to, but they should at least get to know each other.

If only she knew he was using her…

Emily dials his number.

It rings.

XXX

As Damon sat in the living room, fingers lazily playing tunes across the grand piano's keys, a drink in his other hand.

His phone sounds in his pocket. He pulls it out curiously, smirking upon seeing a stranger's number. He knew who it was.

"This is Damon," he called through.
"Hi, Damon…It's Emily," she replies.
"Oh. Emily. Hi…I'm glad you called. It took you a while. I was getting worried," he played.
"That's because I stopped by your house earlier to drop off Elena," she explains. Damon furrows his eyebrows.
"Oh?" he asks, rising to the window and looking out.
"Yeah…She wanted to talk to Stefan."
"Yeah, I see them," Damon says irritably, but tries not to show it.
"Does it look like they're working things out?" Emily asks curiously.
"Well, they're kissing," he cringes in disgust. "A good sign," he forces out in a happy tone.
"Definitely," Emily grins. "They've been through a lot…they deserve to be happy," she says. Damon clenches his jaw in annoyance. He pulls away from the window.

What about them?

"…Are you happy, Emily?" he retorts as if in counter.
"…What do you mean?" she asks, confused with the odd question. Yet, she felt her heart pinch in pain…

Was she happy?

Damon shakes his head. "Nothing…Think I had a little too much to drink…I'ma call it a night before I do something stupid," he smirks tiredly. She chuckles.
"…Goodnight, Damon."
"Goodnight, Emily."

Damon hangs up and furrows his eyebrows at the phone. He really needed to keep a led on his emotions. Stupid emotions.

But he wouldn't shut them off.

He wouldn't.

The Salvatore's mind suddenly threw out a warning. 'You're getting too close to her,' it says.

Emily.

Yes, she was his way in, but compulsion free. He didn't need to, which was good, yes, but, it was almost as if they were becoming friends…which felt strange…he couldn't remember the last time he'd had one.

Maybe this was a bad idea. Maybe he should find another, compulsion-related way in, at least those were completely fake.

Meh…It was too late in the day to plot and stuff. Damon finished his drink, and rose to his room.

XXXXX