A/N: Only one episode in this chapter! It would have been wayyyy too long if I tried to fit two in. Enjoy!

Disclaimer: I only own Lacey.

Bloodlines

My mom doesn't come out of her room for days after my dad's death, but Damon never leaves mine once.

At least, not when I'm awake. Somehow, there's always a steaming mug filled with tea waiting for me in the morning.

I give myself until the end of the day of Dad's funeral to mope and drown in misery, then I'll force myself to pull it together. Practically the whole town shows up to the service since he was such a "prominent community figure." He would have hated it.

"Let's get out of here."

I glance up from the tombstone at Damon standing over me.

"The ceremony ended hours ago, and you haven't moved. You need to get some distance," he says. "Let's go on a road trip."

"I can't leave my mom at home alone." I reach my hand up, motioning for him to help me up. He takes it and pulls me up but doesn't let go.

"She wouldn't even notice."

I scowl at Damon. "She's dealing."

I've been leaving food outside her room every day, but it has remained untouched so far. It's like she's totally checked out from reality, and I lost both my parents, but I can't be mad at her.

He holds his hands up innocently. "I won't make you go," he starts. "I just think it would do you good."

Gently tugging on my hand, he prompts me to walk beside him to his car.

Arriving at home, I'm not surprised to find it unlit and silent. Damon unlocks the door. "Ladies first," he bows with a flourish.

"Thank you, kind sir," I smile.

I leave him in the living room, going to check on my mom. For once, her door is unlocked.

I enter slowly and find her sitting on a chair by the window, staring out blankly. Kneeling in front of her, I try to catch her gaze. "Mom, please," I entreat quietly, grabbing her hand. "Talk to me. It's me, your daughter. The apple of your eye. The corn on your cob?"

She doesn't even acknowledge my presence, just keeps staring vacantly out the window.

Was this what I was like that night in the warehouse? I guess I know where I got my trauma response from.

Sighing, I make a decision. "I'm going to go on a trip with a friend for a couple of days," I murmur. "There's a lot of food in the fridge, if you get hungry."

I stand up and shuffle across her room, looking back at her once more before closing the door quietly.

Damon is already standing in the hall when I turn around. I walk past him to my room, pulling out a pink heart-patterned overnight bag from my closet. I hand it to him silently before rummaging through my closet for something more comfortable to change into for the road.

"Pack for me while I change?" I ask.

He smirks.

I smack him. "Don't even think about it. Pretend you're packing for a 5-year-old," I caution.

I go to the bathroom to change. Eh. Might as well shower while I'm here. I take my time, lathering myself in strawberry shortcake scented shampoo and body wash. When I'm done, I change into a pair of strawberry printed footed pajamas, not bothering to brush my tangled hair.

I open the door and step out of the bathroom as Damon looks over from where he's draped on my bed.

"Cute PJs." He takes a deep breath in and bursts out in laughter. "You smell like you just came out of a bakery," he chokes out as he walks over and boops my nose.

I put on a smile and look up at him innocently, though I think my huge glasses might ruin the effect I'm going for. "Want a taste?" I offer, tilting my neck to the side.

His gaze immediately darkens, eyes turning black. He steps closer, forcing me back until I'm against the wall.

Oh my, that's one intense stare. Maybe the glasses didn't ruin the effect? I feel my heart rate pick up. Was I teasing him or actually being serious? Now would probably be a good time to decide. He leans in close, and I feel his lips on my ear.

"I'm not going to turn down that offer, Lacey," he breathes, making me shiver. "Speak now or forever hold your peace." I feel his lips turn up at the statement, and my jaw goes slack.

I guess that decides it. I'm putty in his hands. Try not to sound too eager, will ya, Lacey?

"Take whatever you want," I gasp. Wow. So much for not being eager.

Damon chuckles lowly, gently reaching up to hold my chin, and leans down. His lips lightly press against my neck before I feel a sharp pain. He wraps an arm behind my lower back, pulling me closer, while one hand remains softly gripping my chin. I feel the gentle pull of my blood as the initial pain wanes.

He pulls away right as I start feeling lightheaded. He runs his tongue lowly over his lips, staring at me with that intense look still. Biting into his wrist, he offers it without breaking the longest eye contact I've ever made with someone in my entire life and offers it to me.

I finally look down, taking it in my hands and bringing it to my lips. I lick my lips and gnaw on the inside of my cheeks when I finish.

This is way too intense. I'm starting to feel way too hot. I fan myself desperately with my hand.

"Okay," I say. "Well, now that you've had your little snack, grab my bag, and let's get this show on the road, chauffeur!"

I hurry out of the room, not waiting for him, padding down the stairs in my footed PJs. I pull on a pair of yellow rain boots at the front door and dart off to his car, sliding in and putting on my seat belt.

I rest my chin on the door, looking out the window as Damon climbs in, starting the car and pulling away.

I'm so confused. He loves Katherine. Damon loves Katherine. Damon has loved Katherine since forever. But, those looks. I peer over at him.

As if feeling my eyes on him, he looks over, shooting me a genuine smile.

"So, uhm," I start, flustered. "What made you think of a road trip, chocolate chip?"

His smile turns sheepish, and I narrow my eyes in suspicion. "About that."

"What?" I am positively aghast. "If you've roped me into some ridiculous scheme under the guise of a cure-all retreat for me, I'll… I'll…"

Considering some various schemes of my own, I decide on one that I'm sure will make Damon rue the day he ever crossed me. "I'll replace all your blood bags with sweet and sour sauce."

Damon bares his fangs. "Well I'll just take some of yours then." His face returns back to normal, falling into his trademark smirk. "Gotta do better than that, Lacey love."

I cross my arms over my chest, focusing on the road with a smug grin. "I'll take my anklet off and have Stefan compel me to forget you for the rest of my life."

After a few moments of silence, I look over to Damon, finding him frowning. "What?" I ask. "No comeback? Mwahaha, I win! As usual. You can't beat me. I'm a winner."

Damon's hands clench on the wheel. "Stefan can't compel you. He's too weak from his Bambi diet." He glances at me. "Wouldn't work."

I huff out a sigh. "It's the principle of it, Damonnn."

"Fine," he concedes, prompting me to throw a fist in the air in celebration. "If Stefan could compel you, which he can't…" He fixes his eyes on mine. "He won't. But if he could, I would be thoroughly disturbed by your threat."

I lift a hand up and gesture to my whole mien. "Of course you would. Then you wouldn't get to see all this awesomeness."

"I wouldn't," he smiles wistfully. "I honestly can't imagine a laugh without you in it anymore."

I blush and turn my face from his attentive gaze. I'm so distracted by the butterflies in my stomach that I almost don't see the car wrecked in the middle of the road.

"Damon!" I shout.

He whips his head forward as he slams on the brake. "Damn it," he mutters. "Are you okay?"

I wince, rubbing where the seat belt slammed me back into the seat. That's gonna leave a bruise. A battle shcar. That thought makes me chuckle.

"I'll take that chuckle as a yes," Damon comments.

I sit up and look out the windshield at the upside-down wrecked car. Huh. It looks mighty familiar. There's a person in there. I follow the long brown hair to the person's face. It's a girl. It's…

"Oh my God," I say, unbuckling my seat belt and leaping out of the car. "Elena!"

By the time I get to the car, Damon is already there studying how to get Elena out.

"Lacey?" Elena croaks out. "What… why…"

"Put your hands on the roof, Elena," Damon instructs. "Just like that. You ready? 1, 2, 3."

He snaps the seat belt, pulling Elena out of the car as I frantically shift from foot to foot. He sets her down and she sways on her feet.

Rushing to support her, I take her arm and place it over my shoulders. "Elena?" I question. "What happened?"

She's really loopy and only manages to get out one sentence. "I look like her…"

She promptly collapses, and I can't support all of her weight because, as it's been pointed out, I am very weak. We collapse onto the road in a heap of limbs, her landing on top of me.

"Aghh, ow," I groan.

And then Damon is there, lifting Elena off of me and placing her in the backseat of his car. He flashes back, helping me back up to my feet. "Can you stand? Is anything broken?"

"Yes, and…" I shake out my arms and legs. "No. Everything seems to be in working order." I take this opportunity to jump into Damon's arms, wrapping my legs around his waist like a koala bear. "You're so sweet."

I peck his cheek, eliciting a rare blush from him before jumping back down. "Do you know what she meant?" I ask.

"What do you mean?" Damon questions, brows furrowed.

"She said, 'I look like her.'"

"Ah," Damon grimaces. "She probably found out about, uh…" He gives me a side glance as he walks to Elena's wrecked car. "Katherine."

He flips the car over with ease, pushing it to the side of the road.

"Katherine?" I ask, confused. "What does that matter?"

"Well," Damon rubs the back of his neck. "Thing is," he starts as we walk back to his car. "The two actually bear a rather… striking resemblance."

Damon slides smoothly back into the driver's seat while I clamber in beside him, shooting him a quizzical look. "How similar are we talking?"

He mutters something incomprehensible as he shifts into gear.

"Speak up, buttercup."

He lets out a long, hesitant sigh. "Identical."

I can literally see the loading icon as my brain tries to process the information. Elena is identical to Katherine. Damon loved Katherine. Wait, Stefan loved Katherine. But Elena is with Stefan. I give up on thinking as a migraine starts forming, but… just… weird.

"Stefan being with Elena is kinda creepy, then, isn't it?" I comment. "He just got knocked down a couple of notches in my cool-o-meter."

Damon laughs, relieved at my not flipping out. "That's what I thought. And you have a cool meter, or whatever you called it?"

I tap my temple with my index finger, winking. "Cool-o-meter. It's all up here, bro."

"Yeah, no. Don't 'bro-zone' me," he says, affronted. "That's chocolate chip, buttercup, sexy beast, et cetera, et cetera, literally any of the names you've called me but that, to you."

"When did I ever call you sexy beast?" I muse. "I only choose befitting nicknames." My nose scrunches up as I smile and give him a side glance.

Damon growls. "Now you're just lying."

Ooh, hot. I wonder if I growled if it would sound that attractive. I decide to try it out.

"Grrrrr, no I'm not."

His slow chuckle builds to a roaring laugh. I try to glare, but end up joining in. I can't help it. Any time someone laughs, I always end up laughing too, even if I have no idea what's going on or really don't want to.

"Hey, 'chocolate chip, buttercup, sexy beast, et cetera, et cetera,'" I eventually interject. "Where are we even going?" I cross my arms, indignant. "Wait a second, you never answered why you wanted to go on a road trip."

"We're going to Georgia, snookums" he replies.

I make a face.

"Not feeling snookums? That's okay. Plenty more where that came from," he drawls. "Anyway, I know a witch there. Might be able to figure out how to get Katherine out of the tomb."

"Right." I almost forgot that Damon's still coocoo for Katherine. "Can you at least sic the Kat on Stefan and cause trouble in his creepy little paradise when you get her back?"

"Oh, great idea, you little schemer, you. See," Damon pats my thigh. "So many reasons I can't let you forget about me." He leans over to kiss the side of my head, causing my face to heat up ferociously.

He has got to know what he does to me.

"Let's hope she's not still a two-timing bitch when she gets out."

I nod along absently. Whatever he says goes. Wait, what?

"Huh?" I ask dumbly.

"Apparently having my love wasn't enough for her. She wanted Stefan so much she compelled him to love her too."

Oh. "You deserve better, Damon," I tell him. "But I totally support your decision to remain in a toxic relationship. I'm sure it provides you with some much-needed drama after being alive for so long."

"Mmhmm," Damon hums, concentrating on the road.

I'm really looking forward to seeing Stefan's face when both Katherine and Elena inevitably end up tag-teaming him. Just because he's my friend doesn't mean I can't enjoy watching him suffer. Hehe.

I shoot Jeremy and Stefan texts telling them Elena's with me and we'll be gone a couple of days so that they won't worry.

They must be in cahoots because they both respond with almost the exact same message telling us to be safe. Though, Jeremy also mentions that he's just going to be working on his extra credit paper, anyway.

I turn off my phone after reading their replies, determined to enjoy this trip to the fullest.

XX

Damon drives all night and I stay up with him, laughing and singing along to Taylor Swift.

By the time the sun rises, we both forget about Elena in the backseat, so when she suddenly sits up and leans between the two of us, I jump a foot into the air, shrieking as Damon nearly swerves the car off the road.

"What the hell!" Elena yells.

"Well, good morning to you, too," Damon smirks.

"Rise and shine, friend of mine!"

Elena looks between the two of us, mouth agape. Eventually, she turns to me frowning. "What are you doing with him, Lacey? He's not… it's not safe for you to be around him."

"If you're talking about the fact that he's a big, bad vampire then I already know."

I cross my legs in the seat, spinning around to sit backwards and face Elena, who is now sitting back, clutching her head in her hand while she glares at Damon.

"I told you to compel her, Damon. Why didn't you compel her?"

"What am I, mincemeat?" I ask in my best New Jersey accent.

Elena just ignores me, keeping her eyes fixed on Damon expectantly, but Damon holds his hand up for a high-five, which I happily give him.

"I can't believe you're joking about this. She won't be able to handle all of this."

Damon rolls his eyes. "She drinks vervain tea. I couldn't compel her." He glances at me from the corner of his eyes. "I didn't want to, anyway. She's fine with it all."

I bounce my head up and down vigorously. "It's true," I say. "Everything's perfectly fine."

"Is that why your dad's dead?"

Damon slams on the brake, holding his arm out to keep me from going through the windshield, but making Elena jerk forward and slam her head against the back of my seat. "Get out of the car," he snarls at Elena.

I turn to face forward again in my seat, looking at my hands in my lap. I've been trying to be happy. I don't like feeling sad because it's so unfamiliar to me. My dad would want me to pull myself together and be happy, and Damon has played a huge part in helping me move forward with my life, but I can't help the twinge of guilt I feel.

Damon reaches over, squeezing my thigh as if he knows what I'm thinking.

"Lacey," Elena starts. "I'm so sorry. I just meant-"

"Out of the car, Elena." Damon orders. She opens the door, climbing out wordlessly.

"Don't be too hard on her," I sigh out softly. "She's just… She just wants… well, actually I don't know. But I'm fine."

"Say the word and I'll leave her stranded here," he promises before getting out.

I look out the window to see him yell at Elena, making huge gestures with his arms. She looks thoroughly disparaged and contrite.

When they get back in the car, she apologizes again but I just wave it off as I tell her it's okay. She didn't mean to be spiteful. She's just got a real problem with Damon. Some people just aren't able to brush off death as easily as I.

It's probably because of how easily I forget things. I have been called absentminded before. It really is just one big, empty expanse in the ol' noggin.

But by the time we get to the bar Damon's witch friend, Bree, owns, my head is about to burst.

I take it back. My head is not one big, empty expanse. It's full of fire. My brain is on fire, and I am wishing for death. If I have to hear Elena complain one more time about being in Georgia and being kidnapped, I will implode.

She didn't even shut up when I told her I texted Jeremy and Stefan where she is. She just started going on and on and ON about how I can't trust Damon and how he's a killer and blah, blah, blah. I tuned out at that point.

When Damon pulls into a parking space, I jump out and stretch as I roll my neck. He comes up behind me, rubbing my shoulders and placing a kiss on the top of my head. Taking my hand, he leads me toward the bar, Elena trailing behind us miserably.

As soon as we enter, a girl I'm assuming is Bree starts toward us, calling out excitedly. "No. No, it can't be. Damon. My honey pie."

Damon greets the woman with an intense make-out session, making my stomach turn.

When they pull apart, I put on a huge smile that almost manages to look genuine and hold my hand out to the woman in greeting, not at all intimidated by her towering height. Nope. Not even in the slightest. But, gosh, how tall is she?

Bree takes my hand briefly, looking between Damon and me with interest. Then she glances at Elena.

Turning around, she walks toward the bar. "Listen up everybody!" She shouts out, pouring three shots. "Here's to the man that broke my heart, crushed my soul, destroyed my life, and ruined any and all chances of happiness!"

I raise a brow at Damon, who shrugs and takes one of the shot glasses.

Looking at them and wrinkling my nose, I push mine away. "Do you have any apple juice?"

Bree throws her head back laughing, causing me to bite my lip not to join in. Curse my propensity for joining in with any laugh. "I'm sorry, sweetie. There are no juice boxes here."

She pours more shots for her and Damon. Elena swipes one, shooting it back.

"Uhm. That's okay. What about tea? Or coffee?" I ask hopefully.

"Nope. Alcohol or tap water is all you'll find here. There's a bookstore that has serves coffee and tea down the street if you're desperate," she suggests. "Where did you find this one, Damon?"

He wraps an arm around my shoulders and pulls me into his side, opening his mouth to answer, but Elena beats him to it.

"He sent her hurtling down my front porch steps," she gibes.

"Oh yeah," Damon muses. "I almost forgot about that. Am I still on your hit list, my lovely Lacey?"

I smirk. "You know it. I'll get you when you're least expecting it."

"So, how did you and Damon meet?" Elena cuts in, looking at Bree.

"College."

Turning to look at Damon incredulously, she raises her brows. "You went to college?"

"I've been on a college campus, yes." He smiles.

"I think I'm going to check out that bookstore," I chide in. "Get a cup of tea." I look around the bar. "You know this isn't really my scene."

Damon looks down at me with concern. "You sure? I can come with you if you want to wait."

I pat his shoulder. "No, you should stay here."

Looking over at Elena, who is currently chugging a beer, I give him a pointed look. "Make sure she doesn't die or, you know, get alcohol poisoning."

Copying one of my trademark moves, Damon gives me a mock salute before grasping my cheeks in his hands, leaning down to press a tender kiss to my forehead.

I'm on cloud nine for the entire walk to the bookstore, touching my forehead lightly with my finger.

The bookstore is quaint, cute, and seemingly devoid of customers. There are rows of old books on top of a slightly worn wooden floor. The shelves nearly reach the ceiling, dimming the atmosphere, but the stained-glass lamps at the end of each row provide a calming ambiance with their soft yellow glow.

On one side of the store, there is a counter with a blackboard beside it, listing the different brews of coffee and tea they serve, along with the daily pastry special. Nearby are cozy-looking leather armchairs arranged around a coffee table.

I twirl up to the counter, smiling broadly at the lady working. "Hello!" I greet with a little wave.

"Good afternoon," she waves back with a laugh. "Welcome to One Book a Day, I'm Amanda! What can I get for you?"

"An Earl Grey tea, please," I request, pausing and tapping my chin. "If it's not too much trouble, Amanda, could you brew that extra strong? I pulled an all-nighter and I've got a headache that only a hefty dose of caffeine will be able to fix."

She nods sympathetically. "Sure thing. Any sugar or milk?"

"No, thank you. I need me the peak, comforting taste of bergamot."

While she makes my tea, I wander through the rows of books, trailing my hand along the spines. Choosing a random book from the shelf, I open it and bury my nose inside, closing my eyes and taking a deep sniff.

"Ahh, heaven," I sigh.

I bring the book down and open my eyes to find a remarkably handsome and well-dressed man standing at the other end of the aisle, looking at me with a slight smile turning up the corners of his mouth.

He's wearing a crisp black suit with a navy-blue dress shirt, his brown hair styled perfectly into some type of newsboy-looking do. I wonder how long he spends on it before wondering how long I've been staring at it.

Focusing back on his face, I see his dark eyes gleaming with amusement. "Greetings." I give him the Vulcan salute, making his eyebrows raise in question. "You know… Star Trek?"

His eyebrows now furrow in confusion.

"Ya know what, never mind." I hold my hand out in offering. "Lacey Galileo," I use my other hand to point to myself.

He takes my hand slowly. "Do you always introduce yourself so readily to strang-"

He stops abruptly, eyes widening as he experiences the force of my signature Lacey-shake.

Hey, it makes an impression, makes me memorable.

"As a matter of fact," I smile as I release his hand. "No. No, I do not. Call it your lucky day."

"Earl Grey tea!" Amanda calls out from the counter.

I quickly make my way over, thanking her and covertly slipping a twenty into the tip jar. I turn around, only to skid to a stop when I notice the suit-clad man only a couple of steps behind me. Or, in front of me. Whatever.

"Whoa, you're super quiet. I wish I were that quiet. That's like a superpower," I ramble. "People always hear me coming. My friend Jeremy says that it's because of my breathing. He says I breathe loudly, like wheezing and stuff."

I cut myself off with a gulp of tea.

Ouch. I should have waited. It's hot. Really hot. My mouth is burning. I can feel my mouth being scorched. I'm going to feel this for days. I won't be able to taste for days. My eyes are watering. Oh, God. That man is still there staring at me. Lemme die in peace, dammit.

I finally manage to swallow it, opening my mouth slightly to breathe in the cool air. I look up at suit man. "One should always wait for their tea to cool before guzzling it down like a parched donkey."

Suit man chokes out a laugh as he tugs on the bottom of his suit jacket, straightening it. I don't know why because it's already impeccable. "Yes, that does seem to be the convention."

I smile as I walk past him, going back to browsing the shelves. It looks like they have a mish-mosh of lots of vintage books. Maybe while I'm here I can find a pretty copy of "Jane Eyre." That would look really cool on my shelves at home.

I get so lost in my hunt for the book that I don't notice suit man is trailing behind me until he speaks again. "Are you looking for anything in particular?"

"Mmm, no. Well, yes. Well, I wasn't when I came in, but now I am." I stand up straight, twisting my head side-to-side to crack my neck, making him raise a brow. Whether it's in question of my chiropractic methods or my book, I'm not sure. "'Jane Eyre,'" I shrug. "It's no big deal if I don't find it, though. I just thought it would be nice to have a prettier copy."

"I think I saw a copy in the next aisle," he murmurs, motioning with his head for me to follow him. "You are a fan of the classics, then?"

"I like to say I am, but I haven't read that many. I have read all of Jane Austen's novels, though," I boast. I bet I sound uber cool right now.

"As have I," suit man says as he pulls a beautiful leather-bound copy of "Jane Eyre" off the shelf, holding it out for me.

"Wow, thank you so much, suit man!"

He looks at me strangely, and I realize that I called him suit man out loud. Whoops. Not my fault.

"I apologize. I've forgotten to introduce myself."

This time, he holds out his hand for me to take. I place it in his and he brings it up to his lips before I can start shaking again. "I'm Elijah."

Wow. What a gentleman. I didn't even realize people did that in greeting anymore.

Hyper-aware that he hasn't let my hand go yet, I gently tug it out of his grasp. "Well, it was a pleasure meeting you. I should, uh, get going probably. And you should, too." I motion to his suit. "You look like you have somewhere to be. And I," I pause. "I have to get back to my friends."

I walk to the check-out counter and place my book on it, waving happily at Amanda, who comes over to ring me up.

"Your friends? They are nearby, then, I presume."

I nod, starting to wonder if this Elijah fellow is a stalker. He's followed me around the entire store, like, twice now.

"That will be $58.70," Amanda says.

Before I can get the money out of my purse, Elijah swiftly pulls out his wallet and hands her a few bills.

"It's no bother to me," he begins before I can say anything. "You have made my otherwise dull afternoon quite bright."

I beam at him. I'm not going to protest getting a free book, especially one that costs as much as this one. "Thank you kindly, Elijah."

We walk outside together in pleasant silence, and I wave goodbye before walking down the street back to the bar, tea in hand and book tucked under my arm.

I glance around, seeing Damon still at the counter, but no Elena anywhere. "Where's Elena?" I ask as I walk up behind him, causing him to turn around.

He smiles widely, pulling me into a hug and kissing my forehead again, less gently. "Passed out, drunk, in the car," he says, unconcerned. "I missed you. What did you get?" He reaches for the book. "How much was it? I'll pay you back."

"No need. Some random nice man in there paid for it."

Damon narrows his eyes and I smile innocently back.

"Only you would get propositioned by some seedy low-life in a bookstore," he mutters.

My mouth drops open. "No, I didn't. He didn't. He was a perfect gentleman." I glare at him, thinking of the lewd display he put on with Bree upon our arrival. "More so than you."

I pull back before he can retort with some flimsy excuse. "I'm going to put this in the car and check on Elena. I'll be right back," I promise. "Two minutes."

He nods, disgruntled. "I'm almost done here. Bree doesn't know anything."

I step out of the bar, throwing away my now-empty cup and looking down at my book. It really is pretty.

All of a sudden, arms come around me from behind, a hand clamping down over my mouth. I try to use my book to hit my attacker, but it has no effect. It ends up falling to the ground. Great. That means it's either a vampire or…

I close my eyes as the world whooshes around me, opening them once we stop to find myself on some kind of metal scaffold.

Or nothing. It's a vampire. A man vampire.

A manpire.

I glare up at him. He pulls his hand away from my mouth and I immediately scream. Mhm. I'm known for my genius. He slaps his hand back over my mouth, holding me to him.

"Listen, this isn't about you. You're just bait."

He slowly removes his hand again, making sure I won't scream again, then disappears.

I'm just bait? But that means… Damon. He wants Damon.

As if he heard my thoughts, Damon appears around the corner, holding my dropped book in his hand, eyes wild. They lock onto me, and he flashes over as I scream, "No, don't!"

The man comes back out of nowhere with a wooden plank and attacks, throwing Damon against the side of the building and immediately moving forward again as he struggles to his feet.

The man stabs the wooden plank through Damon's stomach, making him drop to the ground, groaning. "What the hell?"

I scramble down from the scaffold and run to help him as the other vampire pours gasoline over him, but I trip. I feel myself go plunging headfirst toward the ground, but I never hit it because there are suddenly arms around me, pulling me back up to my feet.

Looking up in surprise, I find Elijah staring at me with a searching expression. He loosens his arms but keeps his hands under my elbows, supporting me.

"Who are you?"

Elijah's inquisitive gaze is broken by Damon's question. We both turn to see him looking at the other vampire who attacked him.

"That's perfect! You have no idea," the man scoffs. "You killed my girlfriend. What did she do to you, huh? What did she do to you?!"

Giving Damon no chance to reply, he picks up a bat and cracks it down on him, causing him to scream out in pain.

"Elijah," I whisper.

He turns to look down at me, eyes darkening with emotion.

"You have to get out of here." I pull my elbows out of his grasp and push him towards the end of the alley. "You could get hurt."

Elijah's lips turn up in a grin, amused. He reaches a hand out, lightly stroking my cheek and looking into my eyes, before stepping away.

The man lights a match.

Before he can throw it down, Elijah is in front of him. The man collapses wordlessly, his heart clutched in Elijah's hands.

My jaw goes slack.

Elijah drops the heart to the ground. With one last look at me, he vanishes.

I give myself a moment to be frozen in disbelief before rushing over to help Damon up. Placing one of his arms over my shoulders, I grab my twice-dropped book before leading him out of the alley.

"Who was that?" Damon asks.

"That was… the man from the bookstore," I tell him.

"The one who bought you the book?"

"That's the one." I reach up, squeezing Damon's hand in response to his bitter tone. "Said his name's Elijah. And you should be grateful. That guy was going to kill you."

"I would be more grateful if you hadn't left out the fact that the 'nice man' who bought you a book was a vampire," he smiles mirthlessly.

"Hey, I didn't know! It's not like the question comes up in any old random conversation. I was shocked to find out. Shocked! Did you not see my face? My jaw dropped!"

Damon buries his face in my hair. "Let's just get out of here. I left my jacket in the bar. We'll get it and head home," he mutters with a sigh.

I follow Damon into the now-empty bar to the counter, where he left his jacket and Bree stands with her back to the room. "We were just leaving, I wanted to say goodbye."

Bree doesn't turn around. "Good to see you again, Damon."

Damon moves around the counter, approaching her silently. "I'm full of vervain. I put it in everything I drink," her voice shakes.

"And you're telling me this why?"

"Lexi was my friend. How could you?" She questions.

"Ahh, so that's whose boyfriend just tried to murder me." Damon stalks closer, and Bree speaks up, terrified.

"The tomb can be opened. Emily's grimoire, her spellbook. If you know how she closed the tomb the reversal process will be in her book. You can open that tomb."

Damon looks to me, letting out a humorless laugh. "Yet another person trying to bargain with me with the tomb."

I give him a double thumbs-up, then tap my wrist like I'm wearing a watch, telling him it's time to get this show on the road.

"Thank you for the information," he begins. "My dear, sweet Bree. Unfortunately for you, that's not good enough." And for the second time that night, I watch someone have their heart ripped out of their chest.

I have to worry for a moment about the sick amusement I feel at the sight. Is this normal? Should I start seeing a therapist? I chuckle at the thought of telling a therapist I find watching vampires rip hearts out amusing. I'd be put in an insane asylum, for sure.

Damon grabs his coat and saunters over to me, putting his hand on my lower back and guiding me to the car.

I look in the back seat to see Elena lying there, still passed out cold. She must have drunk a lot. Unsurprising, considering the way she was chugging her beer when I left for the bookstore earlier.

"Did you kill Bree just to show you're as cool as Elijah?" I ask Damon. That's a cute thought. Awh. He wants to show off for me.

"No," he says, a little too fast. "She told Lexi's boyfriend I was there so he could kill me. She signed her own death warrant."

"Yup, I totally believe you," I nod. "But just so you know, you'll always be the biggest, baddest, coolest monster around to me." I pat his leg, leaning my head on his shoulder and closing my eyes.

Damon rests his cheek on the top of my head, placing a hand over the one I have resting on his leg as he drives us back home.

A/N 2: I couldn't wait for Lacey to meet Elijah! Next update (hopefully tomorrow) will be Elijah's POV of this chapter, because who doesn't want to get inside his head and know how he feels about our girl? If you don't, too bad because I do. XD