Have re-written some of the dialogue to make them more unique. Took some feedback about Damon and Rhea's relationship and wanted to make it a bit more them.

I quickly pivoted to leave the room, before I ran square into Stefan. His eyes were focused on Elena as he steadied me, then proceeded to join her side.

As he reached the door, he positioned his body between Elena and Damon before asking, "What are you doing here?"

By this point, the door had opened enough to show Damon still standing on the precipice of the doorframe. A smirk slowly stretched across his lips as he answered smugly, "Waiting for Elena to invite me in of course."

Elena, still in a daze holding the cake in her hands, responded, "Oh, uh… yeah, you-"

Stefan cut her off before she could continue, protesting, "No, no, no. He can't uh, he can't stay. Can you Damon?"

Despite standing multiple feet away, I could feel the unmistakable strain between the two, piquing my interest enough to draw closer toward the door, leaning against the wooden banister.

Caroline, who had been halfway down the hallway on her way to the kitchen before she realized what was going on and paused, "Damon, what are you doing? Come on, get in here."

Stefan, answering before Damon could speak, said firmly, "We're just finishing up here."

Despite Stefan's protest, Elena put an end to the obvious power struggle between the brothers by sighing, "It's fine. Just come on in."

Damon's smirk widened to a full smile as he stepped inside, brushing his shoulder against Stefan as he walked by. Taking a moment to look around, he said, "You have a beautiful home, Elena."

My arms crossed defensively as an obvious scowl covered my face, overcome by my annoyance at not only Caroline showing up uninvited, but also Damon's impressive ability to hastily ruin what was turning out to be a good night.

As Damon's eyes continued to scan the room, they finally landed on me, his eyes widening as they glimmered, taking my full frame in. His lips curled upwards again, "Well, look who it is. I told you we'd see each other again, didn't I? I think it's safe to assume you know my name by now, but you still owe me yours."

Meeting his intense gaze, my eyes trailed over his tall figure, taking in his broad shoulders adorned by the same leather jacket from earlier, until my vision eventually flickered over to Caroline.

Standing upright, tongue in cheek, my arms fell to my sides before retreating back to the kitchen, leaving his question unanswered. Behind me I could hear Elena whisper to Damon, "You two have met before?"

I felt the tension in my shoulders release the moment I crossed the kitchen's threshold. Wanting to avoid the inevitable small talk that would undoubtedly ensue between the group, I decided to start clearing the dining table.

The aggravation I felt upon seeing Damon continued to simmer within me - I was baffled by his nonplussed behavior. He seemed entirely unphased by the fact that he had quite literally gone from openly flirting with me, to kissing Caroline the very next day. How could he be so nonchalant about everything? I grimaced with disdain as I began moving the empty plates to the kitchen sink.

Bonnie apparently caught on, as she approached me with a concerned look on her face, "Rae? Are you okay?"

"Yeah, Bonnie. Sorry, just been a long couple of days. Feel free to join the others in the living room though, I'll clean up." I said, doing what I could to disguise my emotions.

"Are you sure?"

Attempting to encourage her by nudging her towards the door, I insisted, "Of course! I'm just feeling a bit tired and would appreciate some quiet - seriously, don't worry about it."

With one last look Bonnie nodded and grabbed her drink before she reluctantly headed towards the other room.

Comforting silence filled the room once I was officially alone in the kitchen. I sighed in relief and began rinsing the dishes before placing them in the dishwasher. Faint murmurs of conversation picked up as the others got comfortable in the living room. I could hear Damon's voice simper with fake compassion as he said, "Oh you know what? You're right Stef, I'm sorry. The last thing I wanted to do was bring her up."

My eyes rolled as Damon continued to disappoint me with his lack of understanding and respecting social situations. What was his problem? Did he really hate his brother enough to try to ruin his relationship? It was becoming increasingly clear why Stefan didn't get along with the guy. What kind of vendetta could a sibling possibly be holding onto that would make them so spiteful? It seemed that as frivolous as Damon was with women, he similarly took pleasure in playing around with Stefan's life as if it was some twisted game.

Shaking my head as I leaned over to place a plate into the dishwasher, I muttered to myself, "Asshole."

The sound of someone clearing their throat echoed into the kitchen, "Am I interrupting something?"

The hairs on my neck immediately stood up as my body froze, the blood rushing to my cheeks. The dish slipped out of my fingers as it landed with an uncomfortably loud clang onto the rack.

Turning around briskly, I was met with the sight of the one person I was trying to avoid… Damon Salvatore. He had already walked halfway towards me, holding out a cup in his hand, "I found another one."

I took slow, calculated steps towards him, stopping just within arm's length as I plucked the glass from his hands, careful not to touch his fingers. "Thanks."

His ever present smirk on full display, he responded, "I'm sensing you aren't happy with me… Why the sudden change? You didn't seem as opposed to my company last night."

With every word he said, I felt an additional pang of frustration course throughout my body. Clenching my jaw, I returned to my spot at the sink, answering curtly, "That was before I realized you were with my friend. When did that happen by the way? Before or after you tried to take me home?"

I could almost hear the smile in his voice as he replied, "Oh, am I sensing a little jealousy? You have nothing to worry about sweetheart, we're nothing serious. She's just helping me out for a little while."

Finding myself even more repulsed by his answer, I kept my back to him. Sweetheart? The smugness in his tone irritated me, further igniting the anger that swelled up inside of me, as I began vigorously scrubbing a set of silverware clean. Over the sound of the running water, I could still hear his footsteps getting louder as he got closer. In an effort to stop his advances, I said firmly, "No, not at all. I'm not in the mood, Damon. Leave me out of whatever game you're playing."

As my hands still held various forks under the faucet, my eyes trailed from the sink to the mahogany wooden flooring, attempting to gauge how much space remained between us. My heart fluttered as I saw his black boots stop at the floorboard right behind me.

The warmth of his breath caressed the back of my neck, twisting my stomach into knots. He knew how to push my buttons, how to get a reaction out of me, as he whispered into my ear, "Oh really? What are you in the mood for?"

Feeling my heartbeat thud resoundingly, I swallowed the growing lump in my throat and put the silverware down. It became painfully clear that he wasn't going to give up and the only way out of this was to beat him at his own game. As much as I wanted to storm out of the room, I refused to give him that kind of satisfaction.

Shutting off the faucet, I slid to the side, removing myself from the tight space he had created against the countertop, and turned to face him. I leaned towards him and hissed, "Nothing involving you."

A flicker of fire and angst filled his irises as they narrowed on me, the corner of his mouth raised while he watched me make my way to the other side of the kitchen island, intentionally creating as much distance between us as possible. Despite already knowing how arrogant he could be, I still somehow managed to be taken aback by his blatant disrespect towards Caroline while she was in the other room, whether they were serious or not.

Once I was on the opposite side of the island, I said sternly, "Now behave."

His tongue swept over his teeth, mulling over his response before he replied, "If you insist. Now, will you tell me your name?"

"Rhea."

"Beautiful name, suits you."

Unimpressed, I shifted my weight and asked, "Why do you keep rubbing Stefan's ex in Elena's face? Who is she and why won't you leave them alone?"

"Ah… Katherine." He said as he began making his way around the island, tracing his finger across the grout lines on the countertop, purposefully closing the gap I had intentionally created. "She was beautiful, a lot like Elena in that department. She could also be very complicated and selfish, and at times not very kind, but… she was very sexy and seductive."

Cocking my head to the side, I ruminated over his loaded description of her. At this point he had already made his way around the counter that had once separated us and stood before me, stopping only a few feet away. My eyes remained focused on him as I pushed off the counter and began taking slow steps backwards, fighting once again to gain control of the situation. Trying not to be obvious, I reached my hand out behind me, guiding myself backwards until my fingertips were met by the firm wall behind me. I continued, "So… what happened then? Why all the unresolved drama around her?

"She died." He said simply, unphased by the what should have been a heavy answer. He didn't even bother trying to hide the fact that his eyes were sensually scanning up and down my body, taking in my figure as he began toying with the large silver ring on his middle finger, accented with lapis lazuli and marked with an engraved D. "In a fire. A tragic fire."

For a moment I was speechless, unsure if I was more surprised by his answer or the lack of emotion behind it. Struggling to find the proper response, I uttered, "I'm sorry, I had no idea. You seem surprisingly okay... but based on how you described her, did you both happen to date her?"

His brows raised for a moment before he began making his way towards me again, "I'm fine, but nicely deduced. We did in fact both date her, but it was very complicated."

As expected, my efforts to keep things on my terms failed as Damon stood inches away from me. He leaned in and placed his hands against the wall, one on either side of my head. The space between us continued to shrink as I leaned back against the wall, trying to remain calm. The familiar scents of sandalwood flooded my senses and the thumping in my chest kicked into overdrive. My gaze remained fixated on his chest as I steadied my emotions. Scrounging up the courage to look him in the eyes, I slowly made my way up his figure, noting the black long sleeve that hugged his muscular torso, no longer hidden beneath his jacket, and the sharpness of his jaw that was covered in a fresh dark stubble. Time stilled the moment I made it to his azure eyes that awaited me, holding steadfast against my own.

My breath caught in my chest and I cracked, "I should get ready for bed. I have a long day tomorrow with the football game and all."

Exhaling softly, as if let down by my choice of words, he reached out his hand towards my face, gently tucking a strand of hair behind my ear. "Goodnight then, Rhea... It was a pleasure talking to you."

His fingers continued down my face, tracing my jawline until they finally broke contact with my skin, lowering to pick up a lock of my hair as he twirled it between his fingers. My blood pulsed in my temples as I struggled to find the strength to move, to do something. I could hear my conscience screaming at me - everything about this felt wrong. Caroline didn't deserve it and neither did I. We weren't two objects for him to have his fun with like this, yet here I was, unable to move.

He finally let go of my curls, his jaw setting as his eyes made their way back up to mine. He tilted his head to the side, inches away from my face, observing me. Finally coming to my senses, I placed my hands on his chest and pushed him backwards before I turned to leave the room. Pausing at the doorway, I looked over my shoulder to say goodbye, "Goodnight, Damon."

Knowing I couldn't risk another second in his vicinity, I forced my legs to keep moving, yelling a quick goodnight to everyone in the living room before making my way upstairs. Reaching my room, I flicked the light off and lit a candle, placing it on my windowsill.

Cracking the window open, I slid into my usual position on the couch and leaned back, closing my eyes briefly. I took in a slow, deep breath, feeling the chilly breeze cool my burning senses. As I calmed down, I could hear everyone downstairs as they were wrapping up for the night and saying their goodbyes.

Opening my eyes, I reached for my journal, and flipped through the pages until I found where I had last left off. Lifting my pen, I took a second to bask in the soothing aroma of the candle as the ethereal glow of the moonlight graced my room.

Dear Diary,

I'm ashamed of myself. I finally found out that Stefan's brother, Damon Salvatore, was the guy I ran into at the cemetery. I knew he was bad news the moment I saw him, but add on top of that the brief stories I'd heard from Elena and the reaction I saw on Stefan's face tonight, how could I let a guy like that get under my skin? Especially after I insisted I had learned my lesson after Tyler. What makes it worse is he's with Caroline! I'd tell her what he's doing, but she's so enamored with him nothing I say would help. What confuses me most is that Stefan seemingly hates Damon, yet sits around while he sinks his claws into Caroline? Whatever. It's not my problem, they can deal with it. Anyways, cheer was fun today! Although, I think Elena is going to quit because on the way home she asked my opinion on whether she should "try new things" outside of cheer. She's dating Stefan now, so maybe she's itching for some change? As for Jeremy, nothing new there... He's still so angsty and it feels like there's a dark cloud hanging over his head all the time. Life is somehow getting easier yet more complicated, but I'll take feeling something over the numbness I had felt months ago.

Closing my diary, I nestled into the couch, sinking into a comfortable position. Looking out my window, I stared at the twinkling stars before my eyes slowly closed and I drifted off to sleep.

–

In the middle of the night, I was pulled out of my deep slumber by the soft sensation of something caressing my cheek. Groggy and half asleep, I opened my eyes only to see that my room was now completely dark, barely lit by the faint glow of the moon. Looking over, I saw that my once lit candle was now put out.

Thinking it must have been the wind, I made to get up to shut the window, when I noticed it was already shut. Ah, Elena must have come in to check on me at some point and closed it for me.

Swinging my legs over, I got up and trudged over to my bed, collapsing immediately. As my conscience darkened, a vague smell of sandalwood and spices tickled my senses as I drifted back into oblivion.

–

The loud cheer of the raucous fans sounded all around us as we waited for the football game to begin. With the sun setting, the autumn wind felt especially piercing as Bonnie and I huddled together to try to keep each other warm in our cheer uniforms.

Pulling my jacket sleeves over my hands, I caught Elena and Stefan by the locker rooms having an intimate conversation. He pulled out what looked like a small box from his pocket before he opened it. Elena looked ecstatic as she pulled out a dazzling necklace. Bonnie, catching my line of sight, let out a soft groan.

Nudging her gently with my elbow, I said, "Come on Bon Bon! I thought we closed the "I hate Stefan" chapter last night? They're cute together, just admit it!"

Sighing, her breath fogged in the air as she confessed, "Yeah yeah… I'll let it go."

Smiling, my attention drifted over to Caroline as we watched her run over to Elena, interrogating her loud enough for both of us to hear, "And you're not in uniform because…?"

Elena's smile dropped off her face as she looked at the ground, not meeting her eye. Caroline dramatically rolled her eyes before walking away without waiting for a response.

I could see Stefan asking if Elena was okay, which thankfully, she seemed to be as she nodded, smiling in response before hugging him.

–

Bonnie and I stood with the cheer team and football players as we gathered around Mr. Tanner for his pre-game speech. He kicked it off with a powerful voice, "Wait, wait, wait. Let's be honest here. In the past, we used to let other teams come into our town and roll right over us!"

Everyone booed as he continued, "But tonight, that's going to change!"

We all pivoted to cheering immediately, evoking a smile on Mr. Tanner's face as he turned to look at Stefan, "We've got some great new talent tonight starting on the offense, and I'm gonna tell you right now, it has been a long time since I have seen a kid like this with hands like these. Let's give it up for Stefan Salvatore!"

Over the roaring of the crowd, I could hear Tyler whining to Matt behind me, "This blows. He can't start the guy. He just got here."

If it wasn't already obvious that Tyler didn't like Stefan, it was now. Part of me understood that Tyler was just trying to be a supportive friend to Matt, but I could also see that even Matt was giving Stefan a chance, so why couldn't Tyler?

Mr. Tanner concluded his speech, "To those people that have been waiting for us to put a check in the win column, I have only one thing to say to you….your Timberwolves are hungry!"

Upset and annoyed, Tyler turned away clearly disgruntled, shoving his way through the players. I watched as he continued walking over to the tailgate in the parking lot where Vicki was. I did a double take as I noticed Jeremy was next to her… drinking?

Immediately tuning out from the rest of Tanner's speech, I felt a sense of panic as I started to make my way toward the parking lot to follow him - I knew Tyler and Jeremy shouldn't be near each other right now.

In a hurry, I picked up my pace as I saw Tyler stop in front of Vicki, before he began moving toward Jeremy. I watched Jeremy's posture instantly change when he noticed Tyler, and I knew I had no time to lose, breaking out into a run. As I neared the group, Vicki screamed out, "Wait, no! Ty! Leave him alone!"

Tyler ignored her, getting in Jeremy's face as he taunted, "Oh, what do you care? Don't look so down buddy. You can have her when I'm done."

Jeremy impulsively swung and struck Tyler square in the jaw. Without hesitation, Tyler immediately tackled him and started pummeling him on the floor. Vicki cried out in desperation, "Tyler, stop it! Tyler, stop! You're hurting him! Tyler, please!"

I was about to try to intervene when Stefan suddenly appeared, grabbing Tyler's wrist mid-swing, pulling him off Jeremy.

"Hey, he's down! Enough!"

The fury was radiating off of Tyler at this point, and it was clear he was seeing red as he took a swing at Stefan, punching him in the stomach. At this point, a crowd had formed and a collective gasp sounded, yet Stefan remained unfazed, not even flinching.

Elena ran up from behind me, stopping next to me as she screamed, "Jeremy, no!"

As she said that my eyes flicked to Jeremy who was holding a broken glass bottle in his hand, winding up to strike Tyler. Swinging his arm forward with all of his effort, Jeremy just barely missed Tyler as he quickly dodged out of the way, the bottle hitting Stefan's hand instead. Matt grabbed Tyler and pulled him away, shouting, "Tyler, knock it off! Stop!"

Elena ran over to Jeremy, grabbing his face while she scanned his features for wounds, as he tried to shrug her off and ducked his head down. Noticing he was bleeding, she chastised him, "What the hell, Jeremy? Put your head up, you're bleeding!"

He pushed her off and growled, "I'm fine!"

Having had enough, I walked over as I glared at him, "Yea, you sure smell fine."

Wanting to deal with Jeremy alone, I shooed Elena off to check on Stefan. I stripped my jacket off and balled it up, using it to dab at Jeremy's wounds. Wincing, he moaned, "Rae, I'm fine, you can go."

Grasping his shoulders, I sternly said under my breath with my teeth clenched, "Jeremy, I've let you cope the way you need to, but I've had enough. Get your shit together. You're making a fool of yourself."

Feeling the weight of my rebuke sink in, his shoulders sagged as he nodded and looked at the ground. "I'm sorry, I know."

Grabbing his chin, I pulled his face up and flashed him one final glare, "I mean it, Jer."

Knowing that I had said all I needed to say, I stuffed my jacket under my arm and headed towards my car. There was no way I was going to wear it all bloodied in front of everyone, and thankfully, I had some extra hoodies stored away.

Opening the trunk, I threw the tainted jacket inside before slamming the lid back down. As I turned around, I bumped into a firm chest. Looking up, I felt my anger flare again.

Damon. Not this again.

Placing his hands on either side of me on the trunk of my car, he caged me in as his eyes twinkled with their usual mischief. I rolled my eyes and ducked under his arm, sighing as I asked, "What do you want now, Damon?"

Ignoring my impatient tone, he lazily leaned his elbow on my car, leaning down so he was eye level with me, "Since I promised not to tell anyone your secret, promise you won't tell mine? I'm hiding from Caroline."

Raising my brow, I made my way over to the backseat, swiftly opening the door to grab my extra sweater. Flinging the door shut, I steeled myself and turned to face him, "And why is that?"

"I needed a break from Caroline. You know how she can be."

Not amused, I responded, "And I know how you can be."

Doing what he does best, Damon continued to push my boundaries as he walked around to my side of the car, propping his arm on the roof a few feet from me. "Well that's not very nice of you."

"And that comes as a surprise?" I retorted.

"Fair point. Anyway, I don't see us going anywhere in the long term. Like I said before, this is just a temporary thing." He said casually.

My irritation finally reached a boiling point, especially with what had just happened with Jeremy - I was officially done with his games and his blatant flippant behavior, "How are you so incredibly arrogant? Caroline deserves better than this... than you. She has her issues, but here you are not taking her seriously. Stop leading her on! I'm tired of sitting around while you continue to rag on her in front of me and disrespect whatever one-sided relationship you two seem to have."

It seemed my aggression only continued to encourage him as he pushed off the car, taking another step forward, his smile still infuriatingly remained on his face, "Duly noted. I'm sorry I upset you then. Although, I do like this bossy side of you, a bit of a turn on."

"Are you serious, Damon? Just when I think you might have some redeeming qualities, you somehow manage to find a way to continue disappointing me." I spat out.

Damon subtly bit his lip before he grinned. "Ouch! But I don't believe you. If I disappoint you so much, then explain the way you look at me?"

"What do you mean?!"

He took one final step towards me, closing what gap remained between us as he said slyly, "I see the way you look at me, Rhea. Part of you, dare I say, enjoys being around me."

Taking a step back, I attempted to regather my thoughts. Had my struggles been that transparent? A rage boiled inside of me, fueled by the disappointment in my own behavior and my inability to keep it in check around him. Having had enough, I barked back "Excuse me?"

Damon lifted his hand and placed it beneath my chin, pulling my face up towards his as he leaned closer to me. "I get under your skin. You find yourself drawn to me, even though you can't explain it." Placing his other hand firmly on my waist, he pulled my body flush against his. "You think about me even when you don't want to think about me. I would go as far as to say you've dreamed about me."

Speechless, my brain flooded with a myriad of thoughts and ways to react as Damon began pulling himself closer to me, the tip of his hair now close enough to tickle my nose as his lips drew closer and closer.

He had done it. He had officially gone off the deep end and proved to me that I really was nothing but another object for his sick amusement. While he wasn't completely wrong, there was a stark difference between thinking about something and acting upon it. I would never disregard Caroline's feelings, but he wanted to have both Caroline and me, which I would never accept.

His lips were a split second away from landing on mine before I abruptly pulled my head back, lifting my leg up to knee him in the groin. I spat out, "I don't know what game you think you're playing with Caroline and me, but I want no part in it. You can't have both of us and you already made your choice."

Not wanting to waste another breath on him, I stormed off towards the football field.

–

The game ended up never happening. As if this night could somehow get worse, Matt had discovered Mr. Tanner's body in the parking lot by the locker rooms, mauled by the neck as Vicki had been.

Red and blue lights lit up our faces as Bonnie and I stood solemnly by the edge of the now roped off area, watching as the paramedics tended to his lifeless body and the police were analyzing the scene. The once boisterous crowd was now completely hushed, everyone in disbelief that a life had been taken, a life of someone they had all known for so long.

In silence, Bonnie and I watched as the paramedics covered Mr. Tanner's body with a black tarp, the loud zip of the bag cutting harshly through the wordless air. Elena clung to Stefan's arm a couple of feet away from us, her hand clutching his chest as her eyes refused to tear away from the pool of blood still visible from beneath the tarp.

Her voice trembling with emotion, she asked, "What kind of animal could be doing all this? Why would it come out of the woods and attack someone in the middle of town?"

Stefan took a moment before he answered, "I don't know, Elena. I don't know."

As the paramedics moved the body bag onto a stretcher, I felt myself grow numb. Just an hour ago, we had heard Mr. Tanner shout out, full of life as he rallied us all for what should have been a simple night of highschool football. It was hard to imagine Mystic Falls without him - he had been a fixed part of all of our highschool experiences, both in the classroom and on the field. He hadn't deserved this.

The siren of the ambulance sounded as it began to drive away, leaving a cold silence behind it to envelop us. As we moved to head home, Elena began walking with Stefan before she reached for his hand, "I was so sure that you cut your hand earlier. I saw Jeremy hit you."

Seeing she was still shaking, Stefan pulled her in for a hug as he answered, "I'm fine. I'm fine, ok? We're fine. That's all that matters."

They headed off to Elena's car, and as I looked at Bonnie, I noticed she looked genuinely scared and concerned, her eyes staring out in front of her.

Muttering, she said, "The numbers… they match."

I flashed Bonnie a look of confusion before she continued, "Rae… I've been seeing these numbers all day long… 8, 14, 22."

Staring at her, her lip began to tremble as she added on, "The building in front of us has the number 8. The ambulance's license plate was FHT 14. And the spot where Mr. Tanner died…"

Her voice trailed off as I looked over at the pool of blood that had spread, but not far enough to hide the numbers beneath it that read, 22.

Squeezing her hand back, I whispered, "I believe you."