The Crow and the Falcon. (Five)
The hallway was crowded with students on the following Monday morning. Stefan stifled a yawn and pulled his chemistry book out of his locker. Mornings were /not/ his best time of day.
"Excuse me, but I think that you're blocking my locker." The voice was snooty, and his senses were tingling, telling him to be wary.
Stefan turned. "Sorry." He said to the blonde standing behind him.
"That's quite alright." The smile was cold. "Lydia. Lydia Franklin."
"Stefan Salvatore." He replied, alarm bells ringing.
"I'm new here, perhaps you could show me the way round?" She asked.
"Sorry. I'm new too, and my sense of direction is appalling. I'm still looking for my Friday afternoon math class." He replied, beating a hasty retreat, heading for his chemistry class.
"Maybe another time?" She called after him, almost batting her lashes.
"Uh, yeah. Maybe." He yelled back, then muttered to himself, "Over my unbreathing body."
He got to chemistry before the teacher, and moved towards a bench at the back of the room. "Mind if I sit here?" He asked Zia, grinning.
"Stefan! Hi." She grinned, shifting her books from the empty space. "Sure, take a seat. How ya doing?"
"I hate mornings. Other than that, I'm great." He chuckled.
"Cool." She smiled.
"Although, I think I had a run in with Cookie's cousin, Lydia."
Zia frowned. "What, here?"
"Outside my locker. Apparently hers is next to mine. I think I need to get a new one."
"Wait, wait. Back up. /She/ has a locker? Why?" Zia was confused.
"Yeah. She says she's new here."
"Oh, /great/." Zia's head thunked onto the bench.
"If Bruce is anything like his sister, I can see why you guys don't like them."
"Oh, he is." Zia groaned. "And Lydia finished school last year. What's she doing enrolling here?"
"Maybe she wants to improve her grades?"
"Maybe she wants to make our lives a misery. You think Cookie knows?"
"How would I know?" He shrugged. "They're staying with Cookie and Adam, right?"
"Yeah."
"I guess they /have/ to know, then?"
"You'd think. But I think it would have been decent of them to have at least /warned/ us."
"Maybe she doesn't know, then." Stefan shrugged as the teacher walked in.
Zia grimaced and whispered to him. "You any good at chemistry?"
"I can pass." He replied. "Why?"
"You got the time to help me? I'm heading for an F in this, and I gotta pull that up to a D or they'll move me into the thick class."
"Sure. That make us Lab partners?"
"Cool." Zia nodded, smiling gratefully. They turned their attention the teacher and concentrated on the lesson, Zia frowning in confusion most of the time.
~*~
"They're /what/?!" Cookie exploded. There weren't enough people in the cafeteria to cause a scene, but Stefan still couldn't help feeling self conscious.
"Here." Zia replied calmly. Stefan admired her for that. Cookie exploding was a hard thing to stay calm in front of.
"Why?" Cookie squeaked. "Oh, don't answer that. I /know/ why. They're brewing up trouble. Probably for me." She growled. Stefan winced as she picked up her dinner knife and started to stab at a bread roll.
"Calm down." Zia pulled the knife from Cookies white-knuckled grip.
"I can't." She hissed. "You know what this means? We're /stuck/ with them. I have to /live/ with them."
"You could be over-reacting here." Zia pointed out.
"Oh yeah? Who bothers to enrol in a new school for a /week/? Especially when they don't /need/ to go to school."
"She has a point." Stefan said quietly. "And I agree that they're up to something. Lydia at least. There's /something/ not...right about her." He shrugged. Cookie shot him a grateful look for the support.
"We have to tell the others yet, you know." Zia moaned.
"Damn. Adam is gonna freak. He'll kill them." The blue-haired girl cursed.
"We can only hope." Zia muttered. "Why don't you turn them into frogs or something?"
"Ha ha." Cookie grimaced. "I wish I could. I really wish I could." She looked up as the rest of the group, including Damon, approached the table. "Hi guys." She said glumly. "Got some bad news. About the terrible twosome."
"We have worse." Jess said, seating herself next to Stefan, face pale. She was trembling, he noticed.
"What's wrong?" Zia asked, suddenly concerned.
"They just found Tatum Kent in the girls shower." Jess grimaced. "Dead. Her throat's been slit."
Stefan and Damon exchanged a glance. *Throat slit?* Stefan thought to himself. *This is bad news.*
"I can't believe it happened." Jess choked out. "I only left her five minutes before. She was /fine/ then." She began trembling even more now, the shock hitting her hard. Stefan pulled her to him in a light hug. She burst into tears on his shoulder. Cookie stared at her wide eyed.
((What?)) Stefan asked.
((She never does that. Never. Man, this has really shaken her up.)) Cookie replied.
"Who is Tatum Kent, exactly?" Damon asked softly.
"Cheerleader." Adam replied absently, pale himself. "Real popular, but nice. Likeable. Didn't treat the 'common' people like lepers."
"Good looking?" Stefan asked, throwing a brief look at his brother.
"She was a cheerleader. She was good looking." said Zia.
((/I/ didn't do it.)) Damon told his brother, careful to block Cookie out. The fact she knew they were talking was bad enough at the minute.
((I didn't really think you did.)) Stefan sighed. ((But you have to admit a slit throat /is/ suggestive of a covered up vampire attack.))
((You aren't suggesting a /vampire/ did this, are you?)) Damon's mental voice was tinged with amusement. Jess's tears had stopped, but she was hiccupping into Stefan's neck now. He shifted his position slightly and rocked her gently.
((No, I don't think a vampire did it. But someone might.))
Damon frowned. ((Which could eventually lead to a sticky situation for us. Damn.))
((We're not leaving.)) Stefan said firmly. Damon looked at him and arched a brow. ((/I'm/ not. You can if you like.)) Stefan amended.
((I think I'll stick around, if it's all the same to you.)) Damon replied, looking away. Stefan hid a proud smile in Jess's hair, then quickly changed his expression to one more suited to the situation.
"We have to stick around then?" He asked. "For questioning?"
Mike blinked, waking himself from his thoughts before replying. "They want Jess's Gym group. And anyone who was out of class." He said, glancing at Adam.
"I was in class." He assured his friend. "For once."
"Good." Mike nodded. "They don't want anyone to leave the grounds yet, just in case. We're all supposed to go to our next class and stay there."
"I wanna stick with you guys." Jess mumbled.
"You all come to my drama class, then." Zia suggested. "There's plenty of room for a few extra. We'll just let your teachers know where you are. They shouldn't mind."
The group moved slowly from the cafeteria, Jess walking between Stefan and Mike for support.
"Sorry." Jess muttered mutely from beside Stefan.
"For what?" He frowned.
"For breaking down like that. I'm really embarrassed."
"Don't be. You've had a shock."
There was silence for a few moments.
"Should have been me." Jess said softly.
"Huh? How'd you figure that?"
"She was putting the netballs back. I was supposed to do that, but she offered to 'cos I had to go see the nurse. So it should have been me."
"What's happened has happened. It wasn't you, and you shouldn't be getting cut up over the fact you're alive."
"Maybe. But if it'd been me, no-one would be dead."
"You can't be sure of that."
Jess looked up at him, anguish plastered over her face. "But /I/ could have protected myself. I could've beaten the crap out of them, I could have got away. Tatum didn't stand a chance." She wailed. Stefan looked at her sympathetically. "Oh, forget it." She tried to wipe away the threatening tears with her sleeve, but it didn't work. She got up and ran out of the room before Stefan could say anything else.
"What was that all about?" He asked, turning to Zia in confusion.
Zia looked at Cookie, who nodded and ran after Jess before answering. "Jess is into self defence. She's a black belt in judo and karate, and has tried her hands at a couple of other things. She's right. If it /had/ been her, chances are our killer would be in need of hospital attention right now." She shrugged. "She'll get over it. And anyway, I don't think it would have mattered. If they hadn't have gotten Tatum, they'd've got some other defenceless schmuck. They knew not to attack Jess."
"You're saying it was a psychotic student?"
"Have to be. Strangers are pretty conspicuous round here. We notice them easily - and if you got no reason to be here, might as well wear a sign saying 'Murder Suspect Number One'." She paused. "Sorry. that was probably in bad taste."
"New student?"
"Not many of those. You and Damon, couple of other transfers and then the usual batch of kids up from Junior High. Everyone is established kind of. You and Damon were late comers, but you have alibis. Besides, Cookie trusts you." She mustered a weak grin.
Stefan smiled briefly. "Bruce and Lydia?"
"Creeps, but cowards. I don't see either of them having the guts to do it."
"I don't know. There was /something/ about Lydia."
"Oh, now I didn't say that they wouldn't think about it. I'm sure they wouldn't think twice about doing it, and they sure as hell wouldn't feel guilty. No, they wouldn't do it in case they got /caught/. Like I said. Cowards."
"People aren't always what they seem." He muttered.
Zia looked at him strangely. "No, I guess not."
~*~
The bathroom was virtually empty when Cookie poked her head round looking for Jess. The two kids in there took one look at Cookie, then a cubicle, and smiled sympathetically before leaving tactfully. Cookie smiled, nodding her thanks. She positioned herself outside the cubicle and started scuffing the toe of her sneaker on the floor. The rubber tip produced an annoying squeak each time it connected with the shiny tiles.
"Go away." Jess sniffled from inside the cubicle.
"No." Cookie said firmly.
"I don't want to talk." Cookie waited for a few moments, and almost smiled when Jess spoke again. "It should have been me." She said pitifully.
"No it shouldn't. And don't talk that way. As cold and callous as this may sound, I'd rather it was Tatum than you."
"I could have protected myself." She replied stubbornly.
"Yeah, so the bastard wouldn't have gone after you. They were probably waiting for some weakling, Tatum came along, and she just happened to be doing a job for you."
"Yeah, for /me/. If I'd done it, no-one would be dead."
"Bullshit. Only difference is it would probably have been a different person, probably after school, and they'd probably have stashed the body. At least we know there's a lunatic on the loose now."
Jess unlocked the cubicle and peered round, her face red and blotchy. Her eyeliner had smeared a little from where she'd rubbed her eyes. "You don't blame me?"
"No. And neither does anyone else."
"Tatum would."
"Somehow, I don't think so. You see things differently on the other side." She pulled Jess into a hug. "Besides which, she'd probably be ecstatic with the attention she's getting."
Jess mustered a weak smile. "I guess."
"You need me to tell you you're being a soppy fool?"
"You just did."
"Well, now you know for sure. Come on. Toughen up. The Jess I know wouldn't go to pieces over this. She'd be calm and collected."
"We all have our off days."
"What did you have to go to the nurse for, anyway?"
"Dizzy spells." Jess grimaced. "Nothing to worry about, though." She hastily assured her friend.
"OK. So I guess it's just one big emotional overload for you today, huh?"
"Yeah. I just wanna crawl back into my bed."
"How about crawling back up to the drama studio with me?"
"Ok." Jess nodded.
"Just clean your face up first." She pointed to the mirror. Jess gave a little mock shriek, and started to wipe her face.
~*~
"I can't believe we're gonna be dealing with Bruce and Lydia on a daily basis." Mike complained.
"Hey, at least you don't have to /live/ with them." Adam snapped.
"So-orry." Mike snapped back.
"Quit it, you guys." Zia ordered. "We shouldn't be arguing with each other."
"Maybe we need to talk about something else." Damon suggested. They all looked at him. He'd been quiet for a while.
"Like what? It's this, or Tatum." Adam pointed out.
"He's right." Jess said. "We need to be doing something else. Take our minds of things. I /know/ I do. I'm still waiting for the police to question me, and it's making my stomach knot just thinking about."
"So what do we do?" Adam asked.
"Homework?" Cookie suggested, glaring pointedly at him.
"Like they're gonna want it in after this. Chances are we won't even /be/ at school tomorrow."
"We are." Stefan put in. "I overheard Miss Holling and Mr Keach talking about it a little while ago." He explained. Adam's face fell.
"So you could do your homework and get it out of the way. With your brains you'll have it out of the way in no time." Cookie grinned smugly.
"Yeah, yeah." Adam grumbled, pulling some books out of his bag.
"I'll help you with that chemistry now, if you like." Stefan offered to Zia, who smiled gratefully.
Cookie pulled out a notepad and settled back in her seat.
"What's the deal with you and Adam?" Damon asked, appearing suddenly at her side. She jump only a little.
"What?"
"How come you're in the same year? You're not twins."
"Uh, we were born in the same school year." She muttered vaguely, uncomfortable with the question. She didn't elaborate any more.
"That ends that topic of discussion." He stared absently at the ceiling for a few moments before looking back. "What are you doing?" He asked, pointing to her pad.
"Writing." She said distractedly.
"Writing what?"
She put the pen down, and glared at him. "Are you going to keep bugging me?"
"Just trying to be friendly." Damon said holding his hands up in defeat and flashing a smile.
"Sorry." Cookie sighed. "Uh, what I'm doing is interpreting dreams."
"Dreams."
"Yeah. You should always keep an eye on your dreams. They tell you a lot."
"Mine don't."
"I'm sure they do."
"I don't dream."
"Oh, come on. /Everyone/ dreams."
"I don't. Or very rarely, anyway."
"Hmm." Cookie arched a brow at him. He ignored it.
"So what's this one about?"
"Not much. Although I keep having dreams of crows lately." She frowned as Damon tried to hide a startled flinch. *What's that about?* She wondered, but put it to the back of her mind for the moment.
"What does that mean?" Damon asked politely.
"Normally, a crow is a bird of ill omen, foretelling death, bad times to come."
"So, don't trust the crow." He looked a little bitter as he said this.
Something clicked in Cookie's mind. "That's not it. Well, not in this case. I think that in this case the crow isn't a symbol in itself, but more a representation of a person."
"Oh?" Damon asked, his attention fully on her now, expression openly interested.
"Yeah. Part of my dream is that there's this Power threatening me, and it's /bad/. I know I can't beat it, but I stand up to it anyway, fighting it, refusing to submit to it. It sends this bolt of dark energy towards me, and I know that I'm gonna die. Then Death itself swoops in to claim me in the form of a crow. Time with the dark Power stops, and it's just me and the crow. It flies straight at me, going for the kill as it were, and I fling my arms up to protect myself. Then something inside me tells me to put my arms down, to /trust/ what's coming at me to kill me, so I do. And the crow rears up inches from my face, and it's almost like it's smiling at me, only sort of compassionate, caring. Then time starts again, and the crow flies at the Power, taking the dark energy for me. The evil Power is defeated, and leaves, drained, and then the crow falls to the ground." She paused, lost in thought. "And I wake up." She finished abruptly.
"Very dramatic." Damon commented dryly. "You have this dream a lot?"
"Several nights over the past three weeks. Including last night" She replied.
"So, you've interpreted this as?"
"A lesson to quit eating pizza before bedtime."
"Ha ha. I'm being serious."
"Sorry. I'm used to people humouring me out of politeness. If you're really interested, it's telling me I can trust the crow with my life."
"That it?"
"Nope. I gotta prove that I'm /willing/ to trust the crow, that I'm not afraid of it, no matter what. That's what the moving my arms from my face is about."
"And what happens to the crow?"
"I said I woke up." She said shortly.
"But /I/ think you know anyway."
She stared at him a moment. "There are two possibilities." She said finally. "And they revolve around trust, and another character."
"Who?"
"A falcon."
Damon sighed a little. "Go on." He urged reluctantly.
"This is a part of a dream I had on Saturday night, only in this dream, the Power returns a little after the crow defeats it.
"After the crow falls, a falcon flies onto the scene. It lands, and the crow and the falcon face each other, the falcon offering support, to face the evil with the crow, prepared to die with it, for it. They're at a cross-roads. In one direction, the crow refuses the aid of the falcon, facing the Power itself. It still defeats the power, saving me from death, but it pays the price with it's own life."
"The other road?" Damon wet his lips.
"The crow and the falcon accept a bond that has grown between them, and in doing so, the crow chooses to take the help the falcon is offering. Together they confront the Power, defeating it easily with their own Powers combined. And both the crow and the falcon live, facing a fresh start with their trust in each other." She frowned a little. "And their love for one another."
They were silent for a few minutes, lost in their own thoughts, before Damon spoke again. "This is all supposition, of course." His asked, his complexion paler than it normally was. He was seemingly shaken.
"It was," She eyed him closely. "Then I met the crow."
"Oh?" He stared at her through narrowed eyes.
"You." She said simply.
"Me?" He laughed nervously. "Perhaps you /should/ stop eating pizza before bedtime."
"It's you. Believe it or don't, but I do, and that's all that matters." She shrugged.
"Alright then. If you say so." He said sceptically, shaking his head. He looked at the floor for a moment. "I was under the impression dreams changed once you got the message. Yet you had this one last night? And there I was, thinking that you trusted me."
"I do. And I'm not afraid of you, either. Or rather, I'm not afraid of what I /know/ of you. You're hiding something. You've got a deep dark secret that I /should/ perhaps be afraid of. Who knows if I will be or not. I'll have to wait and find out."
"Who says you /will/ find out." He smiled at her, drawing back behind a mask of arrogance. He got up to leave. *Damn,* She thought, */Idiot/. You should have steered clear of that topic. He was just warming up.*
"I'll find out sometime." She called after him. "My dream tells me that much."
Damon stopped and turned round. The look of anger and desolation on his face sent a ripple of icy fear up and down her spine. "Trust me. You really /don't/ want to know my secret." He said, and she believed him. Oh God, she believed him. He stalked out of the room. Cookie watched him go, and noticed Stefan watching too, bewilderment showing openly on his face. He looked over at her, and she looked down at her notepad quickly to avoid his gaze. *Did he hear us?* She wondered.
~*~
Damon stormed through the empty school corridors. He was shaken. He felt vulnerable, and he didn't /like/ feeling vulnerable. It made him weak, and Damon Salvatore, Prince of Darkness, was /not/ weak. He used the feelings as fuel for anger against himself, then the world, then Cookie. But his mind went in loops, and, for once, he was unable to stay angry at the girl. It wasn't her fault. He was the one that asked /her/. He growled at himself in frustration. He needed to hunt. He needed the thrill of the chase. He needed to reassert his feelings of power, because powerful was something he'd lost his grip on back there. He headed for the main entrance.
"Sorry, son, but you can't leave." A cop said, placing a hand on his shoulder to restrain him. Damon turned, growled, and threw the hand off before storming past and through the door. He paused as an afterthought and turned.
"Forget I was ever here." He said, sending a forceful burst of Power with it. The cop blinked, confused, not seeing Damon anymore. Then he winced, putting his hand to his head, muttering about a headache. He hadn't needed to use that much Power. He'd done it out of spite, something to prove he was still the old Damon. *But why do you need to prove it at all?* He asked himself. *Because you /aren't/ the old Damon anymore?* He growled again. *So what am I? The new model caring-sharing Damon for the nineties? Oh, puh-/lease/. Choke on your own sentimentality, why don't you.* He started running for the woods, driving his thoughts away from his inner-self, to safer topics to cause anger.
Stefan.
Oh, yes, how /wonderful/. He was supposed to put his trust in /that/ weakling? Then again, trust wasn't the problem. He could be /trusted/ alright, what with that annoying code of honour he followed. The problem was that Damon didn't /want/ to rely on Stefan. He didn't want to rely on anyone. Admitting to Stefan that he needed him was not an appealing thought. He wouldn't want to give his brother the satisfaction. As for /love/. The thought was repulsive. *But you /do/ love him.* His mind threw at him cruelly. *You /care/. You showed that when Elena came back, when he was dying. You didn't /want/ to lose him then, and you want that even less now.* He scowled. He was even against himself now. He stopped in the middle of the woods, panting a little and leaned against a tree to rest a moment. He opened his senses for anything to run after and kill, but his mind mocked him. *Looking for something to kill? What about that building full of people back there? Why didn't you go on a killing spree? Revel in the blood of some screaming and fearful /humans/. You're getting as bad as Stefan. You're starting to /care/ about them. He stood up straight and screamed at the sky.
"I don't give a damn, you here? I don't give a damn about /anyone/ except myself! Not them, not anyone. Especially not my brother!" He stood like that for a minute before slipping down the tree, and sitting with his head in his hands. *Who are you trying to kid?* He asked himself. *If you don't care, why are you here? Why did you move here with Stefan? Why are you living with him? Why are you bothering with this dumb school idea? You never liked it in the first place, you're just doing this to /please/ him. If you weren't, you'd leave. Now, this minute. It's not safe to stick in a place where a murders happened.*
But deep within, Damon had to admit that he couldn't leave. That he didn't want to. *Five centuries of not giving a damn are finally getting to you. It's all very well not caring for anyone. but who've you had to care about you? No-one. And then you start to get on with your brother, your only link with the past.* He squeezed his eyes shut. *Can I /really/ blame myself for letting it happen.* He sighed.
"Alright, dammit." He whispered angrily. "I care, alright. I /do/ give a damn." He sat for a few moments, not thinking. And he caught the scent of a deer. He grinned savagely, and set off in pursuit.
"Of course," He told the woodland in general, "I'm only going to admit that to /myself/. No need to let anyone else know."
He whooped and laughed loudly, concentrating on the chase, letting his nature take over his senses.
~*~
It was late, nearing midnight. They sat in silence. Stefan wasn't entirely sure why he was there, except that he'd found himself being dragged back by the group. Not that he'd protested. They were in Adam's attic bedroom. Large, sprawling and spacious, there were windows facing south, east and west, with heavy drapes to cover them. Right now they were open, letting moon and starlight in. Stefan sat in the window seat of the south facing window, Cookie in the west. Zia, Jess and Mike sat on Adam's large bed. Adam himself was pounding away at the keyboard of a computer that sat on a long bench on the north wall. It was littered with what looked like spare computer parts and various electronic appliance innards.
None of them knew where Damon had gotten to for the rest of the day, and Stefan was beginning to worry. He wasn't sure if he was more worried about his brother, or the population of Redditch in general. He was also worried about the murder. Events at Fell's Church had warned him that murders seemed to get pinned on the new kid, and he didn't like what the cause of death indicated. All it needed was another Alaric Saltzman to come along and make links that weren't there, and Stefan and Damon could be the target of a witch-hunt. *Or rather vampire hunt.* He grinned to himself, looking at their own resident witch, Cookie. He was pleased to notice that Jess had calmed down considerably. The questioning had been routine, and she'd been out relatively quickly.
"Adam, would you please /stop/ that racket." Cookie yelled finally, the strain getting to her.
"It's taking my mind off things." Her brother replied without looking up.
"Well tap quietly then." She snapped. Then, after a moment. "What are you doing, anyway?"
"Just surfing the 'Net." He shrugged.
"Duh. The caterwauling that thing produces when you log on gave that little revelation away. I /meant/ what were you looking at."
"Porn sites, probably." Mike snickered. Adam to looked up long enough to give the other boy a filthy look before turning his attention back to the screen.
"I'm downloading a graphics program if you /really/ want to know."
"Uh huh. Would that be a shareware copy, or are you stealing a copy."
"What do you think?"
"Stealing. Or one of those '30 day trial' offers that you'll keep on using afterwards."
"Don't they have passwords and shit that lock you out of those?" Zia inquired.
"On some, yeah." Adam muttered.
"I guess he just re-installs them after the 30 days are up." Cookie shrugged.
Adam smirked. "Gee, you are so uneducated when it comes to computers, aren't you? Ah, the joys of hacks, cracks, and serial number generators."
"Which are probably illegal." Cookie noted dryly.
"How does it feel to have a criminal for a brother?" Jess laughed at Adam's sheepish grin.
"So long as he doesn't drag me down with him, he can break into Fort Knox for all I care."
Adam looked round at the group. "Now, /there's/ an idea." He beamed, doing a veritable impression of the Cheshire Cat.
"You could do that?" Stefan asked, surprised.
"If it's on a computer system, chances are I can get into it."
"You could get into police files?" He asked, his mind whirring.
"Yeah." Adam said swivelling his chair round to look at the vampire. "You want the Tatum Kent file, huh?"
Stefan nodded. "If it's on the computer yet."
"It should be. I doubt the autopsy report'll be in yet - cause of death being kind of obvious they might take their time. But I'll still give it a go. Leave me to it, and I might even pull the autopsy for you by tomorrow." He frowned. "Why are you so interested in it? The police'll release the details soon enough." Adam said.
"I just think that the killer won't stop at Tatum." Stefan replied. *And by the time they release the details, it may be too late for myself and Damon. I just want to make sure there's nothing to worry about.* He added to himself uneasily.
~*~
Damon was sitting on the couch flicking through the television channels when Stefan got back from Adam's at one in the morning.
"What time do you call this?" Damon smirked. "Tomorrow's a school day."
"Then why are you still up?" Stefan shot back, flopping down unceremoniously next to his brother. "What's on?" He asked.
"Umpteen million channels, and you have to ask 'what's on?'"
"Nothing?" Stefan hazarded.
"How'd you guess." He replied, flipping the remote to Stefan.
"Man, and we /pay/ for this?" He asked, flicking through half-heartedly. He gave up and started rummaging under the couch for the TV guide.
"What's more worrying is that we're actually sitting here watching it /despite/ complaining." Damon commented.
"You didn't think to rent something out?"
"I only got in an hour ago. Most rental stores aren't as nocturnal we are, and the ones that are I doubt you'd be interested in, anyway."
"Where did you get to this afternoon, anyway?" Stefan asked, ignoring the jibe.
"Nowhere." Damon said, his voice clipped.
"Nowhere? You practically stormed out of the place."
"I said nowhere, I mean nowhere." Damon growled, getting up from the couch. "It's none of your business." He said, stomping into his room and slamming the door behind him. Stefan winced a little. *Nice move, Stefan.* He chided himself. Music started blaring loudly from behind Damon's closed door. Stefan grimaced and decided to go back out for a while, not wanting to face the neighbours on the floor below when they came up to complain.