Beast of Burden
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If someone were to ask Damon what he wanted with Andy, he wouldn't be able to tell. Maybe he just wanted sex, maybe he just wanted company, maybe he just wanted to pass the time. The fact was that it was already Thursday, and since Sunday night when Emma had left her house, the vampire had been sharing a bed with the reporter. It was good, he could not deny. He had compelled her to keep his secrets, so he didn't have to worry about saying anything in front of the woman and, lucky for him, she was so crazy about him that she was willing to do whatever he wanted in bed, without the need for compulsion. Yeah, maybe he just wanted to spend his time in a company that offered him sex and blood.
"I'm late, this is such a crazy day," Andy commented as she came downstairs while putting on her blazer. The flight attendant look was getting on Damon's nerves, but it was a small price to pay for what Andy was offering him, "I'm covering the Historical Society's High Tea".
"Woo-hoo, thrilling!", Damon debauched.
"Yeah, it's for some visiting writer. He's writing a book on small-town Virginia", Andy replied, and Damon stopped in the middle of the room and stared at the woman. If that writer was Elijah, his new blood bag would be much more useful than he imagined.
"A writer, huh? What's his name?" the vampire questioned.
"Elijah Smith," Andy replied, and Damon snorted. He picked up the woman's scarf and wrapped it around the reporter's neck in order to hide the bandage on her neck. Damon had been feeding on her since day one, but there was no way he could give her his own blood to close the bite wounds. Sharing blood was too... intimate.
"Smith. He's using Smith?" the vampire sneered. "Okay, you have your story straight in your mind, right?"
"I can't say that you bit me or drank my blood, just that we hit it off and I really like you", Andy replied, as if she had memorized a text to present in the morning show. Damon decided to opt for a little more fun, so he took the woman's face in his hands and looked deep into her eyes.
"And you're falling hard".
"You might be the one", Andy replied, in a trance-like state. Damon released her and smirked.
"Perfect", the vampire said before opening the door and bumping into Alaric. Bemusedly, Damon turned to Andy and said goodbye with a kiss on the woman's lips, which took the professor totally by surprise. "Have a great day, honey".
Andy said goodbye to the vampire with a smile and walked out the door, stopping for a few seconds to greet Alaric, who smiled sympathetically, but still presented a confused look. Damon blinked a look and made room for the man to enter the Boarding House.
"My new girlfriend, Andy Starr. Action News", Damon explained, visibly amused by his friend's confusion.
"It's not called Action News", Alaric replied.
"Yeah, I know. I just like saying it". Damon replied rolling his eyes. "Come on".
Alaric followed Damon into the living room, where the vampire picked up the dagger and vial that John had left for them. He explained about the possibility of killing an Original, and the two debated for some time whether or not they should believe John. When Damon asked what Alaric was going to do that night, the professor knew that the vampire didn't want to waste any time and shove the dagger once and for all into Elijah's chest, but, unfortunately, he, Jenna, and Emma had been left to help with the event that would take place at the Lockwoods. He left, however, the information that Emma would also be present completely aside.
Damon seemed visibly interested, since the Original would be guest of honor, and assured Alaric that he would not try anything against the enemy at the event, but that he would definitely attend and officially introduce himself to Elijah. Perhaps then he would have a better idea of who they were dealing with.
After a good shower and clean clothes, Damon drove to the Lockwoods and was not at all surprised to notice the mansion packed with people. Small towns were ridiculous when it came to events. Always the same people, always the same menu, always the same conversations. Boring. He walked around the place until he saw Carol talking to the very figure he was hoping to meet. He straightened his shirt and put on a cynical smile, but was approached by Jenna before he could reach Elijah and Carol.
"Damon? What are you doing here?" the woman asked. The vampire, to his happiness or misfortune, was spotted by Andy who, before he could even take a breath to answer Jenna, appeared at his side with a glass of sparkling wine in hand. The reporter looked at him as if he were the sun itself, and it was ridiculous. Maybe he overdid the "you're falling hard" thing.
"Hi, you came!", Andy exclaimed and Damon, more to tease Jenna and keep up appearances, leaned over to the reporter and deposited a simple kiss on her lips. Jenna's eyes widened, and Damon turned to her.
"Thanks for introducing us, Jenna", the vampire pretended to thank and, without waiting for a response, left the company of the two women and walked over to Carol and Elijah. Jenna stared at her friend.
"Are you dating?" the Sommers asked.
"Yeah, he's such a great guy! I think he might be the one" Andy replied passionately and Jenna had to control herself not to make a face. She didn't like Damon, but, if she was honest, she was already satisfied with having the man far away from Elena. Jenna looked around and rolled her eyes at the sight of John coming through the door, why did he have to be everywhere? Wasn't it enough that she had to put up with him inside the house? She thought about going to him and sending him away, but saw Emma walking towards the man, probably with the same goal, and relaxed. She would let her niece take care of the situation, after all, she had had enough of dealing with John and had a lot to organize there at the Tea.
Emma was wearing a very simple dress, but it fit her figure well and made her look sophisticated. The dress was white, made of a very thick fabric, and the high collar framed her face well and accentuated her golden-brown hair, which was loose and slightly wavy. The only visible patch of skin was her legs, from the knee down, since the dress had long sleeves that covered her arms. Emma wore a simple black sandal with thick heels and the only makeup on her face was dark red lipstick and some mascara.
The girl walked towards John, rolling her eyes, when she saw him approaching Alaric. She hurried her pace and stood beside her friend, who was absent-mindedly watching the door leading to the late Mr. Lockwood's office.
"Have you come to get in everyone's nerves, John?" Emma asked, and Alaric seemed startled by the sudden company.
"Good afternoon, Emma", John greeted her falsely, and then immediately looked at Alaric. "What's Damon doing with Elijah?"
"How would I know?" Alaric replied in the same tone, putting his hands in his pockets and shrugging.
"Because you're his little helper".
"If you say so, John", Alaric replied debauchedly.
"Does Jenna know about your extracurricular activities? Maybe it's time we tell her", John teased, and Emma decided to intervene.
"Does she know about yours? Or are you too busy making children with another people's wife and then living them for your relatives to handle?" Emma vociferated.
"It's okay, Emma" Alaric commented.
"Yeah, it's okay Emma" John debauched, without taking his eyes off Alaric. "I don't think it's a good idea for you to sleep in the house, it's inappropriate with the kids. And this ring? The one Isobel gave you? It's mine and I'm going to want it back".
"I think you're missing some points, John" Emma replied, and stepped forward, pointing her index finger at John. "You can't come in here and start dictating rules. You're nobody. You're just a man in mid-life crisis who urgently needs some law classes. You have no authority in that house, least of all over Elena. Grab a fucking book".
"Does Jenna know you and her are sharing the same boyfriend?" John teased, implying that Emma was interested in Alaric. The girl grimaced.
"Gods, John. How can you be so fucking dumb?" she complained, and John looked at Emma as if he wanted to shoot her with his eyes. Snorting in defeat, the man turned his back and left.
"He's a dick" Alaric commented, and Emma looked at him.
"Tell me about it", Emma replied and, sighing, pulled Alaric into the corner next to a drink cart. "I think we should tell Jenna".
"I don't know how" Alaric confessed, "I want to tell her everything, I hate lying to her, but I just don't know how. I mean 'hey baby, I'm a vampire hunter, so is John. Your niece dates a vampire, there's a ritual and an Original wants to sacrifice her'. I can't just say that!".
"When you put it into words, it does indeed sound absurd", Emma said with a grimace and crossed her arms. "Anyway, I have to help Jenna, see you later?"
"Actually I have to meet Damon. If Jenna asks, can you tell her I had to grade some paper for Monday?"
"Sure, I just don't know if that excuse will stick. By the way, I'd really like to know how Mystic High isn't ranked as one of the worst schools since the town holds events every week and cancels classes", Emma commented and Alaric giggled.
"To be honest I don't complain about extended weekends".
"Me neither, but I'm not a student, I already have a master's degree", she shrugged. "What are you and Damon up to?"
"Just talk about the hole Original situation, we had some info from John".
"Yeah, I know. I wouldn't trust him though. He's a snake", Emma warned, and Alaric shrugged. "I'm curious about all this, so maybe I'll stop by later". The girl then said goodbye and went off to find Jenna.
Alaric waited for Damon to leave the Lockwood office and waved for the vampire to meet him outside the mansion. The two left in silence and Damon drove to the Boarding House, a place he deemed safe to talk about what he had discussed with Elijah.
While Alaric made himself comfortable and poured himself a glass of bourbon, Damon plopped himself down on the couch and sighed defeated.
"Ugh, he's gonna be hard to kill" the vampire complained.
"Yeah, I'd think twice before I'd trust that dagger and some ashes to do the job. You're gonna need more info", Alaric commented.
"I'm out of sources!", Damon complained, nodding for Alaric to pour him a glass too. The man snorted and opened the bottle again, pouring the liquid Damon liked so much into a glass. Alaric walked over to the couch and handed the glass to the vampire.
"What's up with you and this news chick?" the man asked.
"Very sexist, Alaric", Damon teased and Alaric raised an eyebrow. The vampire let out a laugh. "She's got spunk, huh?"
"Just don't kill her, please?" the man asked before throwing himself into an armchair. Damon smirked.
"If I did, who would report her death?" he joked, and Alaric rolled his eyes.
"Just don't do it, alright? She's friends with Jenna and it's bad enough I'm lying about everything else. I just hate the lies!" Alaric complained, and Damon didn't respond, just stared at the man. "Speaking of Jenna, what's up with you and Emma?"
"Emma?" Damon raised an eyebrow.
"Yeah, Emma. You're together a lot, all chummy and shit", Alaric explained.
"There's nothing between Emma and me"
"Emma and I", Alaric corrected and Damon huffed.
"She's the English teacher, you're the history guy. Cut me some slack", the vampire snorted.
"So?" Alaric insisted.
"She's just a friend. I enjoy her company" Damon shrugged.
"You're not compelling her, are you?"
"Course not", Damon answered feeling offended. "Is it so hard to believe that she spends time with me because she wants to? I'm very charming".
Alaric snorted and and took one last sip on his drink. The man dropped the glass on the coffee table and stood up sighing and stretching his back.
"Oh, God. I gotta go. I gotta pick Jenna up". The man straightened the jacket on his own body and patted his pants, as if to smooth the fabric. "Don't worry, I'll show myself out".
"Good luck", Damon replied and dropped the glass on the arm of the couch. The vampire interlaced his fingers behind his head and closed his eyes, sighing. He heard Alaric's footsteps walking toward the door and waited to hear the door being closed. However, the only thing Damon heard was a loud crash, which made him wide his eyes and rise vampire-speed from the couch. As soon as Damon reached the source of the noise, he found Alaric grunting with a knife buried in his stomach.
Before he could react, he was attacked by a boy who shouldn't be much older than Jeremy, but who had superhuman strength. Great, were-fucking-wolves, Damon thought. The vampire resisted the attack for quite a while, but ended up being injected with something he suspected to be vervain in his neck. It took a whole large syringe to knock the vampire out.
Unable to get up from the floor, Damon watched as the pack of werewolves, led by Jules, entered his house. And so a long torture session began. As usual, the damned dogs were behind on absolutely everything and wanted to know about the moonstone. What they didn't count on was the fact that Damon was used to torture, he had been through infinitely worse. If they expected the vampire to open his mouth on the stone, they were very wrong. They would have to inflict much more pain than a few thin chains and stakes in his neck to make him talk.
At the Gilbert house, Emma and Jenna had just dropped some boxes of leftover appetizers from the afternoon event on the living room table when they heard the sound of a bottle being opened. Jenna rolled her eyes and walked to the kitchen. Emma followed her aunt and there she spotted John pouring himself a glass of wine. It was amazing how comfortable the man felt in a house in which none of the inhabitants liked his presence.
"Where's Elena?", John asked.
"At the lake house for the weekend", Jenna replied with a fake smile.
"With Stefan" the man complained.
"Yes, with Stefan".
"And who gave her permission for that?"
"I did", Jenna replied, now smiling with debauchery. "As Emma must have explained to you a few times already, until you get a lawyer, file for guardianship, it's my call. There's nothing you can do".
Emma tilted her head, facing John with a smirk.
"I always knew you were lax with them but I didn't think you were negligent", John teased. Jenna closed her face and stared at him angrily.
"She wanted to get away from you, okay? And so do I, so I'll be staying with Ric", Jenna replied, turning away from the man and waving to Emma for the two to leave the kitchen.
"Cause he's such a great guy, right?"
"Watch it, John", Emma threatened. Jenna turned to John.
"He's a liar, Jenna".
"What?" the woman asked, and Emma stepped forward, placing herself between her aunt and the man.
"He's just trying to mess with you, Jen", the girl spoke up.
"You're a liar too, aren't you, Emma?"
"You are the one with experience in lying. Or did you forget that you lied about being Elena's uncle? You lied then, and you lie now when you pretend to care about her", Emma replied angrily, and took Jenna by the arm, pulling her out of the kitchen. "Let's go, I'll drive you to Alaric's".
"Ask him if they ever found his wife's body!", John shouted from the kitchen, and Emma noticed when Jenna tried to answer, but stopped her aunt from continuing the conversation.
The girl picked up her own coat from the couch and slammed the door hard. She took the car key from her pocket and unlocked the vehicle. She and Jenna got into the car and the aunt looked confused.
"What the fuck was that about Ric's wife?", Jenna asked.
"He's just trying to get you. John's an asshole, he just came here to mess with everyone's life. And you are one of his targets because now he decided to be a dad", Emma exclaimed starting the car.
Jenna sighed and seemed to consider what Emma had said, however, something was still hammering inside her head.
"Ric never told me about his wife" Jenna complained in a low tone.
"Maybe he's just not ready. He lost his wife, it's a painful thing", Emma shrugged and Jenna stared at her.
"Do you know something about it? Did he ever tell you about her?"
"Why would he tell me? We're not that close. He's your boyfriend, Jenna. If he didn't tell you is because he didn't tell anyone else".
"Hmm, I guess you're right" Jenna commented, but didn't sound convinced. Emma drove in silence to Ric's house, and when she parked the car and turned off the headlights, she looked at her aunt.
"Do you have the keys?", Emma asked.
"Yeah, he said he would be late, but I can show myself in".
"Okay" Emma nodded. "Jen, don't let John get under your skin, okay? Alaric's a great guy, he really likes you. If he didn't tell you about his dead wife is because he's not ready yet".
Jenna didn't answer, she just nodded positively and took off her seat belt. The woman got out of the car and looked in her purse for her keys. When she reached the curb, she turned to her niece.
"Thanks for the ride, Emma".
"Anytime", Emma replied, and started the car again. The girl decided to drive to the Boarding House, she hadn't seen Damon all week and, she hated to confess, but she missed him. It would be nice to talk to someone about John being a damn son of a bitch and trying to sabotage Jenna and Alaric's relationship. After all, Alaric was Damon's friend.
She drove down the highway until she reached the outlying neighborhood where the vampires lived. As soon as she entered the gate, she was surprised to see all the lights in the house on and a figure she recognized as Elijah standing by the door. She had seen the Original for the first time during the afternoon at the event, and even though she knew he was probably already aware of her presence, she decided to park the car right there and walk the rest of the way.
She knew of the deal he had with Elena, so she didn't particularly fear for her life. According to her cousin, the vampire seemed like a man of his word. She walked silently to the balcony steps, where Elijah was standing, seemingly waiting for her company.
"I guess they're having a party and didn't invite us", the vampire joked, though his face remained quite serious. "Should we come in?"
"After you" Emma replied, waving her hand for this vampire to come up the balcony before her.
"Smart decision" he remarked, and opened the door quietly. "Please be quiet, okay? We don't want Elena's beloved cousin getting hurt".
Emma felt her heart leap, but nodded positively. Something was wrong. And, as strange as it might seem, it had nothing to do with the millennial vampire at her side. The girl remained silent and walked slowly into the entrance hall of the house. When she looked to the side, Elijah was no longer there.
"Where's the moonstone, Damon?" Emma heard a female voice ask in the distance.
"You never gonna get it" Damon replied, and his voice sounded tired, hurt. Emma caught her breath. She took silent steps into the living room, where she saw Elijah propped up against a column along the short flight of stairs from the living room.
"Looking for this?" the Original asked, and all faces turned to him and, inevitably, to her as well, as she was only a few feet behind the vampire. Damon saw her and his eyes widened in worry. The invaders watched Elijah slowly walk a few steps and place a white stone in the center of a sideboard, but Damon's eyes never left Emma's. She looked at him in horror. He was covered in blood, chained to a chair, and a metal collar with wooden stakes around his neck. He was hurt, far worse than she believed possible for a vampire. "Go ahead, take it", Elijah said, pointing to the rock and walking away from the sideboard.
One of the invaders ran at superhuman speed to the table, but Elijah was faster, and Emma only took her eyes off Damon when she realized that the Original had the man's heart in his hands and the lifeless body was lying on the floor. The girl watched in horror as Elijah ripped the hearts out of almost everyone in that room, while the few that were left fled in hurry. Forcing herself out of shock, Emma ran to the chair where Damon was standing, and the vampire stared at her with an expression that denoted surprise and concern.
"How do I take this off?" the girl asked in a broken voice, trying to open the collar. Damon seemed absorbed by the sight of Emma worriedly straining to try to free him from the torture. Elijah approached the two of them and nudged Emma to back off. As soon as she obeyed, the vampire yanked, with surprising ease, the chains off Damon.
"So do you realize this is the third time I've saved your life?", Elijah asked the vampire, who did not answer. The Original then turned to Emma, who was a few steps away from him. "Despite the terrible occasion, it was a pleasure to meet you, Miss".
Emma didn't respond either, and she and Damon watched Elijah turn his back and walk away. When the front door slammed, Emma ran over to Damon and helped him get rid of the rest of the chains. When she helped him get the collar off, the vampire grunted in pain. He allowed Emma to take his face in her palms and examine him to see how badly he was hurt.
"Are these gonna close? You're a vampire, you can heal, right?" she asked as she turned his head between her hands and looked in horror at the thick wounds on his neck.
"Not when I'm this weak", Damon replied.
"What do I do?" she asked, and he, even though bruised, smirked.
"You could feed me you blood" he teased, and she stared at him seriously. He frowned as he watched her seriously consider it, and held her wrists. "I have blood bags in the fridge, don't worry".
"Okay" she nodded, but didn't move from her seat. Damon and Emma stood for a long time staring at each other. She didn't move from her seat to get the blood bags, and it took him a while to realize that she was still there because he was holding her tightly by the wrists. Realizing that, he let her go, but still she remained close to him. Suddenly, the vampire reviewed the latest events and frowned as he remembered that Emma was with Elijah.
"Why were you with him?", Damon asked, not even bothering to cover that he was pissed.
"Elijah?" Emma asked.
"No, Santa Claus", Damon huffed. "Yeah, Elijah. Why were you with him? How do you know him?"
"I came to see you and he was outside. I didn't came here with him. I met him here", she explained, and Damon stared at her for a while, reading her face to see if she was telling the truth. And, as always, she was. "I'll get you the blood bags" Emma announced and walked away from Damon, but as soon as she took three steps and spotted Alaric on the floor, she screamed.
"He's not dead" Damon explained, getting up from his chair with difficulty. "Well, he's dead, but not forever. I'll explain later, just give me the blood, would ya?"
Emma nodded and ran to the kitchen, opened the fridge and took out two bags of blood, realizing that one was O- and the other was A-.
She mentally wondered if there was any difference between the two, as if they were juice flavors. She mentally scolded herself and shrugged, returning to the room. She handed the bags to Damon, who looked them both over and chose one. As soon as he finished the first, he drank the second. Emma watched as the color returned to the vampire's face and all the wounds closed up. He looked, again, like the Damon she was used to. Only dirtier.
Emma then walked over to Alaric and crouched beside the man, patting him twice on the cheek. He didn't move.
"He's dead!", Emma exclaimed, and Damon let out a laugh.
"Yes, he is dead. But see that ring on his finger?" Damon asked, and Emma nodded positively. "It's a ring that brings him back to life. In a few hours he will be very much alive".
"Okay... Now what?" Emma asked, getting up and standing in front of Damon.
"Now you help me clean this mess", the vampire replied with a smirk, and Emma looked at him with a frown. "What?"
"You do realize this is a crime scene? And now I'm your partner in crime!"
"You such a drama queen", Damon rolled his eyes.
"I hate you," she replied, and the vampire walked over to her, standing practically glued to the girl. He stared at her with those ice eyes.
"You and I know this is not true," he replied with a smirk and she snorted, turning away.
"You owe me all the fries and all the whiskey I want for the rest of my life for making me help you with this. I'll get the cleaning stuff", she announced and walked off toward the kitchen. Damon undid the smirk only for his face to relax into a sincere smile as he watched the girl walk angrily stomping her feet toward the kitchen. When she returned, she took off her coat and looked around for an armchair that wasn't covered in blood. Damon raised an eyebrow. She was such a gorgeous creature. "What?"
"You should wear dresses more often," he commented and accepted the cleaning squeegee the girl offered him.
Because Damon was much stronger, he was in charge of getting rid of the bodies, while Emma dragged the furniture back to their respective places and wiped the blood off with the cloth. She had to admit that the fact that the couch and the armchairs were leather made the cleaning much easier, and she wondered if this was one of the reasons Damon and Stefan didn't renovate the house. She shook her head in amazement at the thought.
Damon returned to the living room and was dragging the chair they had tied him to back into place when his cell phone rang. The vampire pulled out the device and put it to his ear.
"BonBon, what a nice surprise", Damon smirked, but soon his smile faded and he frowned. Emma stood in front of him, waiting for bad news. "So he planned to kill her all along... Got it, loud and clear". He turned off the call.
"So?", Emma asked.
"Elijah is not trying to protect Elena. He wants the ritual to happen so Klaus can be vulnerable".
"Which means he will kill Klaus after the sacrifice", Emma finished the sentence for him. "What we're gonna do?"
"We're gonna kill him", Damon shrugged.
"So you trust John with this dagger/ash thing?"
"I know someone who can confirm me this story", Damon answered, already with a certain vampire in mind.
"Who?" Emma asked curiously.
"No one worth knowing," he replied, and took the cleaning cloths from her hands. "That's great for today, do you want something to drink? See a movie, perhaps?"
"Are you serious?", she asked. "You just... You wanna watch a movie? After all this" she pointed to the floor, already cleaned, where the bodies once stood. "And after this news?"
"There's nothing we can do tonight, doll", Damon answered, getting closer to her. "Tomorrow I'll handle this. Tonight, we're going to watch a movie and drink".
Emma didn't want to sit on the couch knowing that just hours before she had a human heart there, so Damon led her into a secod room, where there was a large television and a medium sized couch, much more comfortable than the leather couch in the living room. On a large solid wood bookshelf that spanned the entire wall was a huge collection of DVDs. Emma walked over to the bookcase while Damon poured two glasses of drink for the two of them.
She pulled out a DVD and turned to him with a smirk. Damon raised an eyebrow, and when she reached over and showed him the cover of the chosen movie, he rolled his eyes.
"Argh, Dracula? Really?" he complained.
"It's the best movie about vampires! And it's Coppola's", she replied, and Damon rolled his eyes and snatched the DVD out of her hands.
The vampire walked over to the television, where he turned it on and played the movie. Emma picked up the two glasses and sat down comfortably on the couch. Damon didn't take long and joined her. The couch was a three-seater, smaller than the one in the living room, and since Emma was sitting on her legs, her bare feet brushed against Damon's thigh. The vampire realized that she was shrinking and picked up a blanket from the armchair beside the couch and threw it over her. She thanked him with a smile and covered herself up to the neck.
Damon then picked up his own glass and a bottle of whiskey, and began to watch the movie with Emma. It had been years since Damon had watched that movie, and he had to admit, it was a good movie, despite the numerous vampire fantasies it presented. Emma was silent, and only opened her mouth to speak when they were in the scene where Dracula scolds his brides for trying to drink Jonathan Harker's blood.
"Is there any difference between the blood types? Like, is one better than the other?" Emma asked, remembering when Damon seemed to analyze the bags of blood and chose to drink one specific one first.
"O- tastes better" Damon replied.
"Hmm" Emma murmured, and he stared at her curiously.
"Let me guess, you're O negative".
"No, I'm A", she replied shrugging and taking another sip of her drink. Damon smirked and slid closer to her, pulling the blanket a little to cover his own legs.
"I'm sure you're very tasty, I can try it if you like, give you a feedback," he teased.
"As if!" she exclaimed, laughing, and Damon found himself smiling. It wasn't the first time she laughed and he ended up smiling. After that, the girl settled down on the couch and continued watching the movie attentively, but the vampire occasionally turned his attention to her. He was well aware of their proximity, of her toes buried under his thigh, as if she were using him to keep warm. He hadn't done anything as mundane as watching a movie in years, and strangely he was enjoying it. He missed, however, enjoying Emma's company to talk. He was surprised to find that she was the kind of person who kept silent during the movie, only making a comment or two when something caught her attention.
"You know, there's a way better looking vampire right next to you, and you're there watching Gary Oldman wearing a wig", Damon commented in an amused tone, and the girl turned to her and frowned at him. "What?"
"There is absolutely no better looking man than Gary Oldman, you should be arrested for blasphemy", she replied, and he chuckled.
"Blasphemy is not a crime", he answered.
"Well, it should be", she said with a smirk. "Okay, maybe you have prettier eyes".
"Have you been staring at my eyes, huh?", he teased again, getting closer and closer to her. Damon was just a few inches away from her face. She smirked.
"You're such a flirt. You're a bitch, Damon Salvatore", she said, and he barked a laugh. Emma looked at her wristwatch. "I should go", she announced, and pulled the covers off herself, rising from the sofa.
"Why, you don't work tomorrow", he asked, watching the girl spin on her own axis looking at the floor for her sandals. Once she found her footwear, she sat back down on the couch to put them on.
"I'm starting to get sleepy, it's been a tiring day", she explained.
"Sleep here", he replied as if it was obvious. It was just her sleeping there. The house was huge, they had enough rooms. She stared at him with flushed cheeks.
"I don't sleep over", she confessed, and Damon raised an eyebrow in question. "I'm not a sound sleeper, so I don't like sleeping over".
Damon remembered when he'd seen her waking up startled and ran to the doors and windows to check if they were locked, and he'd been annoyed. It had been a while since he'd forgotten that detail about her, but now the image was clear in his mind and he was bothered. The vampire brought his index finger up to her chin and lifted Emma's face so that she could look him in the eye. The girl frowned.
"Don't you dare compel me" she said in a firm voice. Damon could feel her nervousness, as if she feared that he might actually use compulsion on her, and it made him even more uncomfortable. What was she hiding? The urge to compel her only increased, but he just didn't have the heart to do it. Something told him that this was the limit, and he couldn't cross it. If he crossed the line, if he used compulsion on her, once she realized it, she would never forgive him. And Damon didn't want that, didn't want the one person who seemed to actually like him to start hating him. He was already hated enough. As if on impulse, the vampire brought his index finger to the middle of her eyebrows, repeating the gesture she had presented to him.
"I would never" he replied seriously, and she let out the breath she didn't even know she'd been holding. "I'll drive you home".
"I came with my car", she replied, and he huffed and stood up from the couch.
"Yeah, and you drank like four cups of bourbon", he explained.
"You drank too", she defended herself.
"I'm a vampire, doll, I have high tolerance. Let's go, I'll drive", he said impatiently turning off the television. He followed Emma into the living room where she picked up her coat and put it on. The two walked to her car, and Damon sat in the driver's seat. Emma stuck her hand in her pocket and took the key out of there, holding it out to Damon.
"It's cute", she commented, as soon as they hit the highway.
"What is cute?" he asked without taking his eyes off the road.
"You driving me home safe, like a true gentleman", she teased, and he rolled his eyes.
"That's it, I'm gonna throw the car against a tree" he joked pretending to be annoyed, and she giggled. The two of them went the rest of the way in silence.
Once Damon had parked Emma's car in front of the Grill, which was already closed, the two of them exited the vehicle and crossed the street. The vampire held out the car key to her, who caught it and slipped it into her pocket. From the other pocket, she withdrew her house key. Emma looked at Damon with those very bright whiskey eyes, and he felt his own pupils dilate. Maybe it was the dress, or the already fading deep red lipstick, he wouldn't know, but at that night Emma was messing with his head. Has she always been this hot?
"Thank you, Damon", she thanked him and, standing on tiptoe, took his shoulders and placed a kiss on his cheek, dangerously close to his lips. He didn't identify if it was on purpose or if she just didn't quite figure out where she would kiss him, but either way, he smirked and winked at her. "Good night", the girl said goodbye and turned her back, entering the small brick building. Damon took a deep breath and dialed Andy's number before heading home.