When I said, 'let's go home,' this wasn't what I meant.

As I stared up at the cute white bungalow where Caroline lived according to the address she gave Damon, I bit back a curse. But, of course, it wouldn't be that easy to pull Damon off course when he had prey in mind. Thankfully, he didn't want me out of his sight and took me along, so I was 95% certain he wouldn't be sleeping with the teen.

What was the age of consent in Virginia? Eww, my body felt gross just thinking about that. Whatever, it wasn't going to happen, so we were okay.

I was jarred from my thoughts as Damon slammed his door behind him, and he jumped out of the car. Cursing under my breath, I scrambled to follow him. There weren't any squad cars out front, so there was less of a chance of us being shot, but one never knew in times like these. We were in the south, after all.

"What is the plan exactly?" I huffed, falling in line with Damon's long strides.

He spared me a quick glance out of the corner of his eye before saying, "The plan, Cara, is to compel the sheriff's daughter to be a spy who will tell me anything and everything about my brother and his little band of friends."

"You mean, about Stefan and Elena?" I said smugly, crossing my arms over my chest and smirking.

Men, so predictable.

Of course, he didn't answer me, which I took as meaning I was right and instead hurried his pace to the door where he knocked firmly three times. As I stood behind him waiting for Caroline to answer the door, I strategized. But, unfortunately, he was right. While I had my charms, I would never have the level of clout a Founding Family member would have, even with Damon on my arm. Add on that we were both new to town and, well, we were screwed if the townspeople were still on vervain.

When Caroline opened the door, she looked bleary-eyed from sleep while wearing a cute blue nightgown that indicated that she'd been waiting up for Damon before she fell asleep. Her eyes widened in shock and glee when she saw Damon but narrowed in confusion when she laid eyes on me.

Before she could say a word, Damon made eye contact with her and said in a soothing voice, "Hello Caroline. Invite us in, please; we're such good friends."

Her eyes went dead for a moment before the compulsion ended, and she smiled brightly. "Hey!" She squealed, looking excited, "Come in! I missed you."

Smiling awkwardly at her as I followed Damon inside, I said, "I'm Willa. Nice to see you, Caroline."

The next hour was awkward as I played nice with Caroline, looking through her closet with her and discussing various topics like what moves she should do for the big football game coming up and helping her feel better about Stefan's apparent harsh rejection. All the while, Damon sat watching us from a spot lounging on her bed, only speaking to add in a sarcastic comment or two. I could feel his eyes burning holes into my back the entire time and struggled to hold my composure.

Thankfully, Damon's compulsion had seemed to stop Caroline's infatuation with him in its tracks and gave me an out on trying to separate them without bloodshed. Damon also seemed indifferent to the teen other than what her familial connections could do for him.

The night was disturbingly domestic, with Caroline ordering a pizza and staying up to fill them in on all of the Mystic Falls drama up and including who wore what on their first day of school. That wasn't the disturbing part, though; the scary part was that Damon was actually playing along. He listened carefully and asked questions at the appropriate times, even giving his opinion on specific hot-topic issues going on at Mystic Falls High School.

It was late by the time Caroline set up the spare room for us and promised that her mom wouldn't be home until late in the morning due to a midnight shift. Being the ass he was, Damon decided to take the bed and leave me on the floor.

Ok, that was a lie; he offered to let me sleep with him, but I didn't trust him not to eat me in my sleep, so… floor it was.

The next morning was strange with Caroline making me help her pick out her outfit for school and skipping the first couple of periods. We went and got lunch in Damon's car and then dropped her off with a promise that we'd be back to get her after cheerleading practice.

As I watched her walk over to her friends with a smug look on her face, I tried to push down my discomfort. Damon had compelled Caroline to make it seem like she was dating him. I knew it was all a show to piss off Stefan and make Elena uncomfortable but still… eww.

The ride back to the boarding house was wrought with tension. Damon was being uncharacteristically silent, and it was freaking me out no matter how calm I appeared on the outside.

By the time we pulled up in front of the enormous building, I felt like my skin was going to crawl off. Then, just as I reached to open the car door, Damon was gone in a flash and standing in front of me, holding the door open. With a smirk, he held out his hand and stared me down expectantly. Never one to turn down a challenge, I reached up and took the offered hand, using a little of my supernatural strength to make him flinch slightly in pain.

Instead of backing off, of course, the dick gave my arm a quick yank, pulling me to my feet and into his firm chest, making me squeak involuntarily. Quickly regaining my composure, I stood straight and fought against the urge to step away from the handsome devil staring at me with amusement and assessing eyes.

Finally, after a few painstakingly slow moments, he said, "Come on."

"Wha-" before I could continue, Damon was already hustling me towards the door, a muscular arm wrapped around my shoulder. Any other time I probably would have blushed, but I could tell by the way his arm was tense and the abrupt way he'd manoeuvred me close so he could keep me within arms reach that this wasn't a romantic gesture. No, this was a way of keeping me in line and intimidated.

Scowling internally, I bristled at the idea that this vampire would ever condescend to control a shifter. We might turn into animals, but we were anything but pets. No matter what the other supernatural races thought of us.

Smiling fakely, I wrapped an arm around his waist and squeezed, snuggling closer into his side. Going by how he flinched imperceptibly and tightened his hold, I'd surprised him in my acceptance and passive-aggressive encouragement.

Walking into the boarding house, I took us walking past a red couch as an excuse to let the dark-haired vampire go and drop lazily into a half-sitting half reclined position. Damon might scare me more than I wanted to admit, but I would rather eat nails than let him know that.

Once I was suitably lounging, I asked, "So, now what?"

Instead of answering, Damon strutted over to the bar, where he picked up an expensive-looking bottle of bourbon and took his sweet ass time pouting himself a healthy glass. After downing the first glass, he looked at me and held the bottle up in question.

What the hell.

Shrugging, I stood up and walked over, putting a little jumping in my step, causing Damon's lips to quirk. Once I was close enough, I held out my hand and waited expectantly as Damon filled a new glass and passed it over after making me wait longer than necessary.

Holding the glass up to my lips, I muttered, "Dick," before tossing the drink back and ignoring how that action caused my throat to burn like a motherfucker and my eyes to prickle.

Huffing out a breath to try and prevent the cough from rising in my throat, I looked to him expectantly. Unsurprisingly, he was staring back, not blinking, and if he wasn't so stupidly handsome, it would probably be creepy.

Pretty privilege, am I right?

I found myself getting lost in that gaze, getting sucked into their depths and my internal thoughts.

Those eyes are ageless. What have they seen? What have they been through? Why does he always look so sad even when he's being a colossal dick?

I was jarred out of my thoughts when Damon suddenly blinked and said, "So, the dog thing. How does that work?"

Scowling, I stepped back and said, "I was born this way. End of story."

"Well, technically-"

"End. Of. Story." I growled, feeling my canines fighting to break through to snarl at the rude vampire, fighting to regain my composure again. I smirked and continued, "Unless you wanna start sharing. 20 questions?"

When the vampire just stared darkly at me, I grinned and went back to flop on the couch. God, I was tired. Sleeping on a hard bedroom floor wasn't exactly comfortable in human form and knowing Damon was sleeping only a couple feet away didn't help.

"So…" I drawled, looking at Damon through half-lidded eyes, "What's under Fell's Church that's sooo important you're prepared to burn this town to the ground to get it?"

"You don't answer my questions; I don't answer yours, Puppy." The vampire spat, irritation bleeding into his expression and making me feel confident I was on the right track.

Feeling impish, I continued talking as if he hadn't just insulted me, "Really? Because I thought it had something to do with the vampire hidden inside that tomb. Little advice? Shifters are known for their incredible sense of smell."

Before the last syllable was entirely out of my mouth, Damon was on the move, a blur as he raced towards me. This time though, I was ready. Just as the vampire reached down to seize my throat, I used his forward momentum to take him off balance and swap out positions.

Damon looked dazed from his sprawled position lying on the red sofa with me perched on his chest, my hand gripping his throat tightly.

Struggling to ignore the heat our position caused to churn in my lower belly by the current position we were in, I growled, "You know, you keep this up," I tightened my hold, pushing his further into the couch cushions, "I might start to think you have a bondage kink or am I just special?"

Damon groaned slightly as he struggled to swallow. Then, looking up at me with mischievous eyes, he purred, "Why? Do I make you feel special?"

Despite the butterflies I wanted to murder fluttering in my stomach for whatever reason, I purred back, "With those pretty blue eyes? You bet, sweetheart. Now, down to business."

In one smooth movement, I pushed off of Damon's chest and was on my feet, looking down at him with raised eyebrows, "I know you have someone in that tomb you want out. I will help you do that if you help me with my problem."

"You mean your performance issues?" He said, looking condescending.

"Yeah, that," I said, refusing to show how his words had my hackles rising internally, "I help you save your friend, and in return, you offer me asylum and keep me safe while I figure out what's wrong with my shifting. Deal?"

For a long pause, Damon just looked at me appraisingly, looking for something. I didn't know what it was, but after a moment, he nodded and said, "Deal. But know this; if you betray me, I'll kill you."

Smiling darkly, I replied, "Ditto."

For the rest of the day, I hid out in Damon's room, ignoring the commotion I heard when Stefan came home to school and Damon being Damon, went to antagonize him. That time was spent going through Damon's things, watching tv, reading and napping.

Currently, though, I was trying and failing not to squirm in my seat while Damon drove us to the Gilbert residence. Apparently, Elena was holding a dinner party, and Damon wanted to crash it. As an excuse for us to even be there, Caroline was currently in the back seat jabbering about everything and nothing, looking smug that she was about to show off her new 'older/hot' friends.

By the time we pulled up to the cookie-cutter suburban house, I was 99% sure that dinner was over, but with how my stomach was currently churning, maybe that was a good thing.

As we walked up the steps, I plastered a smile onto my face while Damon wrapped a tight arm around my shoulder in a testament to the loving boyfriend facade he had going on. Caroline trotted ahead, looking giddy as she continued to chatter on the inner workings of her friend group.

If you could call it that. Sounds like Elena and Bonnie are the besties, and she's the third wheel that they love to mock behind her back because they don't share her interests.

Fucking teenagers…

While Caroline knocked on the door obnoxiously, I leaned in closer to Damon's side and whispered in his ear, "What is the point of this exactly?"

As he turned to look at me, it brought us face to face, so close that our nose brushed together as he whispered back, "Fun. Don't you like fun, Cara?"

Rising to the challenge in his voice, I leaned in closer until only millimetres separated our lips and our breaths intermingled, "Baby," I murmured, "You have no idea."

Of course, that was the scene Elena opened the door to. Caroline grinned like a loon while Damon and I looked one second away from jumping each other on the front porch.

Feeling the unwelcomed eyes on me, I forced a smile onto my face and turned in tandem with Damon in what I hoped looked like a cute couple's pose while Caroline introduced us.

"Surprise!" Caroline cried, "Bonnie said you were doing dinner, so we brought dessert."

Elena looked shocked and a little dismayed as she said, "Oh."

"Oh! This is Damon's girlfriend, Willa! He wanted to introduce her to Stefan's friends."

"Hope you don't mind." Damon interjected, pulling me closer, "I'm just so proud of my girl here."

When the attention turned to me, I struggled to find the words. Thankfully, Stefan was too pissed to play along and spat out, "What are you doing here?"

Smirking, Damon said, "Waiting for Elena to invite me in."

Blushing slightly, Elena stuttered, "Oh, yeah, you can…."

Stefan, the interrupter, quickly interjected, "No, no, no. He can't, uh...he can't stay. Can you, Damon?" His question sounded a lot more like a threat than a question.

Wow, this guy doesn't know how to be subtle at all. How has he not been outed by now?

Caroline chuckled uncomfortably and said, "Get in here." From her spot within the Gilbert entryway.

"Yeah," I said, "I want to meet the mysterious Elena you keep talking about, Stefan."

Stefan looked horrified as he stared me down, trying to place me. I felt bad for the poor guy, if I hadn't made a deal with Damon, I probably would have helped him, but I was too selfish to try and jeopardize my one chance of figuring my shifting problem out to try.

Stefan looked panicked as he grasped for straws, "We're just...finishing up."

Elena looked uncomfortable standing between the two brothers, but she seemed to plaster on a fake smile as she said to Damon, "It's fine. Just come on in."

Damon looked like a cat who caught the canary as he walked past the threshold, pulling me by the hand, "You have a beautiful home, Elena."

Elena blushed red as she practically giggled and said, "Thank you."

"Yes, it's gorgeous. Has it been in your family long?" I asked, cozying up to Damon once we were inside. The inane small talk made my skin crawl, but if the ends justify the means, I would play along in Damon's little charade.

A little while later, we found ourselves in the Gilbert living room, Damon, Caroline and I on one side while Stefan, Elena and Bonnie sat on another. Damon, being the dick he was, had tugged me onto my lap and seemed to enjoy making me as uncomfortable as possible by playing with my hair and tickling my waist slightly where his arm wrapped around it.

Stefan watched us like a hawk with narrowed eyes while the three teenage girls made small talk and chattered about school. This hadn't gone unnoticed by Elena and Bonnie, who watched the vampire with wary eyes, darting between the brothers and me, looking for answers. Thankfully, Damon was as charming as he was handsome, and within minutes he had Elena eating out of his hand with intermittent flirting and fun stories aimed at endearing the teen to him.

Wow… if she blushes anymore, people might start asking questions.

"So, Willa, was it? How do you know my brother?" Stefan asked, breaking the easygoing atmosphere in one fell sweep.

The stern look in his eyes had my hackles rising and my back straightening against Damon's chest as I stared him down, not blinking; after a moment, I smiled brightly and said, "It's recent. Damon met me in town, and he was just so sweet; how could I say no?"

Reaching down, I interlaced Damon and my fingers, trying to look as lovestruck as possible. I could feel Damon's smugness and amusement practically radiating off him as he spoke up, "Well, have you seen her? How could I ever pass up this beauty?"

Caroline looked slightly miffed at the attention being off her; smiling too brightly, she turned to Stefan and said, "I cannot believe that Mr. Tanner let you on the team. Tyler must be seething. But good for you. Go for it."

Damon looked smug and completely condescending when he chimed in, "That's what I always tell him. You have to engage. You can't just sit there and wait for life to come to you. You have to go get it."

Subtly, I nudged him with my elbow and gave him a look that I hope conveyed, 'cool it.' Apparently, both brothers sucked at subtlety.

Caroline's smile turned slightly catty when she turned to Elena and purred, "Yeah, Elena wasn't so lucky today. It's only because you missed summer camp. God, I don't know how you're ever going to learn the routines."

Bonnie quickly snapped, "I'll work with her. She'll get it."

Caroline, of course, ignored her and muttered under her breath, "I guess we can put her in the back…."

"You know, you don't seem like the cheerleader type, Elena," Damon smirked, trying to look encouraging but just looking smarmy as he stared at Elena intently.

"Oh, it's just 'cause her parents died," Caroline chirped, completely oblivious to the dark looks her comments were garnering, "Yeah, I mean, she's just totally going through a blah phase. She used to be way more fun." Then, seeming to see the looks she was receiving, she shrunk into herself and muttered guiltily, "And I say that with complete sensitivity."

"I'm sorry, Elena." Damon apologized, "I know what it's like to lose both your parents. In fact, Stefan and I have watched almost every single person we've ever cared about die."

Stefan looked pissed as he snarled, "We don't need to get into that right now, Damon."

Damon looked positively gleeful when he replied, "Oh, you know what, you're right, Stef. I'm sorry. The last thing I wanted to do was bring her up. Mmm."

"You know what?" I said, standing up, "I think I'll get a start on the dishes. Damon, help me." The last part wasn't a question as Elena attempted to dissuade us but saying we were guests, but by that time, I already had Damon by the wrist and was dragging him towards the kitchen.

Once we were safely in the kitchen away from human ears, I let Damon go and walked over to the sink to turn the water on and create some white noise to block out our talking. No doubt Stefan would be listening intently, even from the living room.

Making sure to whisper, I demanded, "What the hell are you doing?"

"Just having a conversation. Why? Are you uncomfortable?"

Snorting, I whispered, "No, just wondering if you have any brain cells left. If you were going for subtlety, you failed."

Glaring slightly, Damon got to work collecting dirty plates, and after a moment, I joined him. We spent the next 10 minutes in silence until I said, "The person you're trying to save is Katherine, right? The girl who turned you?"

Damon tensed before saying, "Yes."

Staring at the tense line of his shoulder, I whispered, "That must have been hard for you, waiting a hundred years to get her back."

He sniffed derisively and turned, looking ready to argue until he got a good look on my face. His face softened imperceptibly before hardening once again and snapping, "It was. Thanks to Saint Stefan."

"Is that why you hate him? Because he hurt Katherine?"

"Trust me, Cara, on the list of me and my brother's baggage, that's just the tip of the iceberg."

Realizing the subject had been closed, I nodded slightly and gave him a small smile, hoping to endear myself to him at least slightly.

We were pulled from our semi-comfortable silence when Elena walked in carrying some plates from the living room.

"Hey," She said, smiling, "We missed some."

"Come on in," Damon smiled charmingly, watching the teenage girl with keen blue eyes.

"Why don't I go check on Caroline while you guys get to know each other?" I said, eager to make my escape.

Of course, my being how it is, as soon as I left the kitchen for the living room, Stefan was waiting for me with furrowed brows.

"Hi…" I muttered weakly; this was going to suck.

"Hey, Willa, right?" Stefan asked, faux interest in his tone.

What is with these Salvatore brothers and sucking at small talk?

"Yeah!" I said, smiling brightly.

"Damon hasn't told me much, well anything, about you. Why don't we sit down and chat?" His words sounded like a request, but the firm hand he wrapped around my upper arm in fake civility made sure there was no mistake. I was sitting down with him.

Laughing nervously, I asked, "What do you want to know?"

"How did you meet?"

"Well, I travel a lot. I'm a bit of a free spirit. I met Damon on my travels."

"Really?" His fake smile told me that he didn't believe a word I said.

"Oh, yeah. We agreed to keep in touch, and when Damon gave me a call, I drove over from Georgia."

"Just like that? Last minute?"

I could feel myself getting frustrated, "Yes."

After a few more tension-filled minutes of awkward small talking/interrogation, I could feel my patience waning and tried to stand up, "Why don't I check and see if Elena has any drinks?"

Once again, Stefan took hold of my arm and made intense eye contact. I could feel his attempt at compulsion at the outskirts of my brain, trying to dig in but failing, like all mystical creatures, I was immune to compulsion. Add on the vervain I guzzled like caffeine every morning, and there was no way this bunny eater was getting into my head.

Feeling my patience snap, I ripped my arm out of his hold - too roughly, going by Stefan's shocked expression - and growled, "Let go."

At the primal growl I'd let out in my anger, Stefan let go of my arm in shock, giving me the chance to stand straight and take a few steps back.

Just as Stefan looked ready to integrate me again, eyebrows furrowing and his eyes filling with questions, Damon stepped in, smiling fakely. "Hey, brother. Elena wanted to chat with you. Looked concerned."

"But-"

"Now, brother. We wouldn't want to cause a scene."

With a brooding expression, Stefan nodded curtly and stalked away, his eyes on Damon and me the whole time.

Turning his attention to me, Damon said, "I can't take you anywhere, can I?"

"He pissed me off," I said curtly, "I wanna go."

The rest of the night was relatively quiet, with Damon and me taking refuge in a local B&B to avoid Stefan's questions. The next night was the school football game, and Damon being Damon, went to antagonize his brother there.

I'd taken the opportunity of my alone time to do some much-needed maintenance, sneaking out to some local boutiques and buying some clothing with a credit card I'd swiped off Damon while he'd been showering. Then, I'd gorged myself on delicious room service while catching up on whatever shows I could find that I'd missed watching during my unintentional life sabbatical.

When Damon stomped in hours later, face bloody and still looking bloodthirsty, I didn't question him on what had happened. Instead, I'd handed him a warm, wet towel and pointed him in the direction of the ensuite bathroom. The last thing I needed was for my only ally in this town to try and eat me, forcing me to kill him.

Thirty minutes later, he'd come out acting like nothing had happened and convinced me to have a movie marathon with him. The room we'd chosen had two twin-sized beds in it, and I'd fallen asleep to the sound of gunfire, and the crunch of popcorn as Damon munched on it absentmindedly.