Chapter Twelve
Rebecca slowly drifted out of her foggy dream state only to freak out when she found that she was pressed up close to somebody. What the hell? Someone was in her bed!
She sprung upwards faster than was smart and grabbed her head when it got all dizzy. Oh, what was wrong with her? And . . . Why was Damon asleep in her bed? Why was he in her bed, period?
Well, they were both fully clothed so that was good. And he was insanely handsome and, even though he was a vampire, he looked innocent when he was asleep.
And, oh God . . . Was her dad here? If he was, he obviously hadn't checked in on her because she would've heard yelling if he had.
When her brain began functioning normally things slowly began to come back to her and she knew why Damon was there. She'd been hurt and he'd had to heal her again. He'd held her when she'd cried; he'd remembered exactly how she needed - liked - to be comforted. When she was crying she didn't want to have anyone say anything because most likely it would just piss her off. She didn't know what caused that particular reaction, but there it was.
She took deep breaths until she was able to force the memories back to where she stored all the things she didn't ever want to think about again. She'd cried about it last night so that, at least, was out of her system; now was the hard part. Functioning properly. Nobody could know what had happened the night before.
"Damon?" she whispered; she didn't know if she should just let sleeping vampires lie.
"Hm?"
She smiled softly; he hadn't been sleeping at all, apparently.
"Is my dad home?"
"Nope. Neither is your aunt."
"Okay, good." She relaxed exponentially. "Did you want to crash here for a while? Bonnie's supposed to come over later, so it's up to you."
"You don't care that she may run and tell Caroline that you're hanging with me?"
"No. And Bonnie wouldn't do that. Besides, friends hang with each other. We're not doing anything wrong." She bit her lip anxiously. "How is that going, anyway? Breaking up with Caroline . . ."
Damon's eyes opened and he looked at her. "I fed from her last night before coming here. She's gonna have a hell of a headache today."
Rebecca was happy he was being honest even though there were some things she just didn't need to know. And that hadn't been her question, anyway. So she did what she normally did and just kept eye contact with him until he answered. That technique worked with a lot of people.
"I feed from her and I make her forget," he said, shrugging. "That's it." He grinned a little. "The morning after the first time she completely freaked out. I was just going to compel her to forget, but she started hitting me with anything she could get her hands on."
When he said that Rebecca burst out laughing. She could totally see that happening. Caroline wasn't good with anything that wasn't normal. She knew she should probably be furious that he was munching on Caroline but she wasn't.
"Um . . . I think you'll find most people would freak out after being bitten by a vampire. Especially when said person doesn't know about vampires." Then more soberly. "Thank you. Again. Not just for the healing, but for what came after."
"Yes, well, it was completely annoying. Don't do it again."
Rebecca knew him enough to know he meant the complete opposite of what he was saying. Not to mention he had a small smile on his lips, which meant he wasn't being serious.
"Okay, so . . . What do you like to eat that isn't, y'know, liquid?"
"I dunno, food?"
"That's helpful." She smiled too, feeling intense relief that she wasn't all knotted up inside. "Anyway, I'm going to go find me something to eat. Um, you can sleep if you want to. Or you can come with me to the kitchen. Whichever."
By that time, Chelsea had started making noises. She'd been alerted by their voices, obviously. She probably needed a change anyway.
Rebecca went to the crib and picked up her sister before the girl could start crying and placed her on the bed. Chelsea grabbed onto Rebecca's hair because it was long with one hand, and she began chewing on her other one. Chelsea looked slightly flushed and Rebecca remembered suddenly that before the whole spell thing had taken place that her baby sister had been warm with a fever.
Damon hadn't moved from his spot on the bed and Rebecca wondered if he was deciding whether or not he should acknowledge Chelsea's presence. Rebecca didn't really understand this Damon and she didn't want to ask about anything yet.
Chelsea had been wet and now that she was dry Rebecca picked her back up and walked out the room.
In the kitchen Rebecca got to work on scrambled eggs and toast. While she was cooking Damon sat at the table looking at something. A card, it looked like. Chelsea had a bottle in her hands and was seated in a highchair. A soft sucking/slurping sound filled the room.
"Did you know your family has been invited to the Founder's party?" Damon asked.
"No," Rebecca replied. "We usually don't. Dad works with the Council now, though, that's probably why." She sighed as she opened the refrigerator door. "I think he knows about vampires."
"If he works with the Council, it's possible." Damon got up and invaded her personal space. "Now, who are you taking to this thing?"
"I never even said I was going to go," she reminded him gently. "Do you want to go?"
"We can get it right this time around," he said. "You and me, what d'you say?" His eyes did that thing he was known for and she groaned.
"As long as you're not going with Caroline, yes. And that eye thing isn't fair. It's hard to say no when you do that."
"Well, that doesn't give me incentive to stop then, does it?"
"Fine, I'll go. That means I gotta get a dress. When is it?"
"Next week, Friday."
She glared at him playfully. "You better make sure I have a good time. I hate these stupid things."
"Fun will be had," he promised. "You need some fun, your life sucks."
She had to admire the bluntness of that statement. Her life did suck and she did need to have fun. She also needed to tend to the eggs before they burned. Damon had distracted her, which he was very good at. He deserved a metal.
She fixed two plates - one for him and one for her - and they ate at the table. Damon didn't mention the Founder's party again; she figured it was because he'd gotten his way so there was no need to. The party thing wasn't so bad. If she'd really had her heart set against it, he wouldn't have been able to persuade her so easily.
"These books that were so important . . . What were they? You never said."
"Diana said they had prophecies or something in them, about the Slayer - about me - and other weird stuff."
"Weird stuff like vampires?"
"I guess, I don't know. She didn't tell me there were going to be thieves until we got there."
Speaking of Diana, Rebecca couldn't see her for at least a week. Diana didn't know about Damon or the fact that Rebecca was willing to drink his blood to heal herself, and Rebecca wanted to keep it that way. She wasn't exactly sure how Diana would react about the whole vampire thing.
"The thieves were muscle for hire."
"For who?"
"I dunno. Diana didn't say. The warehouse was in Richmond, though, so whoever it is they have to live around here somewhere, and they're going to be pretty pissed that they didn't get what they wanted. I was only able to stop two of them before security took over."
"Thieves were vampires?"
"Yeah." She sighed and reached over to grab his hand. It twitched, but he let her continue anyway. "I'm sorry. I'm not meaning to make your life more complicated; it's just sort of working out that way."
Damon didn't say it, but the complications weren't a problem as long as he could have her along with them. Besides, he'd been around a long time; complications were his way of life. They were nothing new; he'd grown used to them a long time ago.
He was aware their relationship was going to be hard sometimes - not that they were in a relationship. No, he was just working toward one. The whole Caroline thing had kind of put a brief pause on things, but it was easily fixable. Rebecca wasn't the type to hold grudges, though she was cute when she tried.
Whatever. Point was she was a Vampire Slayer and he was a vampire; of course there were going to be some difficulties. Their very natures should make them hate each other, and yet . . . He wasn't even human and she was. That would be a problem if they let it be.
Rebecca was now in her room getting dressed and Damon was going through one of the Watcher's journals Diana had loaned her. He was ninety-nine point nine percent sure that he wasn't supposed to be reading this because he was a vampire.
Rebecca had left Chelsea with him in an obvious attempt of trying to make him pay attention to the girl. She seemed okay; she was on the floor, on some blankets, still drinking from her bottle.
Going back to the book . . . The Slayer he was reading about had been alive in the 1700s during the French Revolution. She'd been killed by three extremely vicious vampires. He noticed that after the girl had died that the journal entries had abruptly stopped. Had it been too painful for the Watcher to go on or had said Watcher just not cared?
This girl, this Slayer, hadn't made it past the age of eighteen. Rebecca was almost eighteen. She would be in just as much danger as the Slayer he was reading about had been in. Even more so if these muscle-for-hire guys were anything to go by. What if there were more where they came from?
He closed the book as Rebecca came back in the room. She was wearing a midnight blue t-shirt that had a V-neck and dark wash jeans. Her hair was up in a messy bun and a few tendrils of her honey-blond waves framed her face. There was a light glow coming from her lips - tell-tale sign of lip gloss - but other than that her skin was clear of makeup. She was beautiful.
She plopped down beside him and reached for the book he'd been reading.
"Find anything interesting?"
"Slayer called, Slayer fought, Slayer died. The usual. What exactly are you looking for?"
"I don't know. I want to know about these other girls. Something other than the fact that they're dead now. You know? Like how did they feel? Did they have people in their lives who knew their secret? Were they - were they like me?"
"What d'you mean were they like you?"
"You know, were they different? Did they . . . feel disconnected from everything, from life, from their friends? I mean, I've always been different, I've always felt like I've been out of tune with everybody else around me. I guess now I know why I felt different."
"Oh, please." Damon rolled his eyes. "You're the only person in this town I can stand. They're the ones who're crazy."
"I never said I was crazy," she said, glaring playfully. "I said I was different."
"Yeah, crazy," Damon said, smirking. Though he was of the opinion that what made her different made her beautiful. He'd been drawn to her in 1864 for that very reason. She was different.
She'd held herself more confidently than most women had back then and he'd liked it. But now . . . Now he could see her insecurities shining through. She thought the Slayer thing made her less attractive. She'd been normal, for lack of a better word, for 17 years and then she'd been shoved into the world of the supernatural. She'd tried to accept it, embrace it with grace, but he could tell she was slipping. She didn't want to be victimized by her circumstances, so she hadn't let herself be. She'd started training and she did her best to stay cool. She'd made it a part of her life since she knew she couldn't walk away from it, couldn't just ignore it.
He heard a car pull into the drive and said, "Someone's here."
"Probably Bonnie. Can you get the door? I have to put the book back."
He arched an eyebrow in agreement and she got up to go to her room. When he opened the door he saw three surprised faces.
Bonnie, Elena and Caroline.
"Oh," he said. "Oops."
Awkward.
When Rebecca came back out of her room she stopped in the mouth of the living room. Damon was at the door and Elena, Bonnie and . . . Caroline - uh-oh - were coming inside.
Elena and Bonnie were surprised by Damon being there; Caroline looked hurt. Rebecca was sorry, she really was, but she'd seen Damon first. And Damon didn't even really like Caroline, whereas he did like Rebecca. He cared about her in his vampire Damon way. He had come running when she'd called the night before, which at least proved he didn't want her to die.
"Oh, okay, um . . ." Rebecca stuttered. "Wow, this doesn't have to be as awkward as we're making it out to be."
There was tension filling the room because of the Caroline/Damon/Rebecca thing. Elena and Bonnie were shooting accusations her way with their eyes.
"What's he doing here?" Caroline asked. "What're you doing here?"
"Hangin' out," Damon said, shrugging and smirking wickedly.
"Hanging out?" Caroline asked suspiciously.
"Yes, Care," Rebecca said. "Friends do that, you know. So . . . And we were friends before he even met you."
Rebecca was being nice while saying those things because she didn't want to hurt Caroline's delicate baby feelings. But she was telling the truth. She had known Damon before he'd met Caroline - long before. Speaking of Damon, he seemed to be getting amusement from the situation, and it wasn't even funny.
"You're not just hanging out," Caroline accused, hurt. "You're acting all weird." Then to Damon . . . "You broke up with me for her?"
The way she'd said her was definitely insulting and Rebecca felt the urge to snap back, but she didn't let herself. She couldn't really say anything anyway because she knew what Caroline had said was true. Damon had done it for her, so he could try to be with her. So, really, maybe he'd done it for himself, but still . . .
"We are just hanging out," Rebecca said. For now, she added silently.
"For now," Damon said out loud. Damon's blue eyes sparkled with mischief and amusement and he seemed to be waiting to see what Rebecca would do next.
Forgetting the fact that she'd been thinking the same thing he'd said, she said, "You're not helping."
He shrugged and waited for the drama to unfold. He was enjoying the fact that everyone was uncomfortable. Jerk. Hot jerk, but he was still a jerk. His behavior was not endearing him to her at all.
These were her friends; couldn't he at least try to be nice?
"Well, I came here to see if you were okay because of Bonnie's witch thing," Caroline said with attitude, "so I'm not leaving."
Caroline sat down on the couch and crossed her arms over her chest defiantly. She then proceeded to pout. Damon arched an eyebrow in amusement. Rebecca had to admit that the picture Caroline painted of a spoiled rich girl not getting her way was a little funny.
After Caroline sat down, Elena and Bonnie followed suit and they began talking. Rebecca hoped Damon would behave.
Rebecca had taken a seat on the floor with her sister and the girl had reached for her automatically. Chelsea was on Rebecca's lap now, chewing on her own hand.
"So how was the game last night?" Rebecca asked since she hadn't been able to go.
"Jeremy got into a fight with Tyler," Elena said, "got knocked around pretty bad."
"Did Tyler start it?" Though Rebecca would've been on Jeremy's side even if he had started it. She actually got along with Jeremy.
"I don't know. We got there in the middle."
"Elena quit cheerleading," Caroline offered, still in full-on pout mode.
Rebecca noticed for the first time that Caroline was wearing a scarf around her neck; she assumed that was to hide the bite mark. Damon must've compelled her to wear it.
"Really?" Rebecca looked at Elena. "I thought you wanted to get back to normal." Elena had loved cheerleading.
Elena shrugged. "Yeah, well, I guess that's not normal for me anymore."
Rebecca understood that. Elena had been through something traumatizing, what with her parents deaths, and she needed to find out who she was now. Rebecca was going through the same thing but with different circumstances.
Elena began playing absentmindedly with a silver pendent that was hanging from a silver chain around her neck. Rebecca had never seen it before.
"That's new," she remarked.
"Hm?" Elena snapped out of it. "Oh. Yeah. Stefan gave it to me. He said it was for good luck."
"Hm." Rebecca moved to sit beside Elena; she left Chelsea on the floor to play. "May I see it?"
Elena looked confused for a second but she removed the necklace from herself and handed it to Rebecca. Rebecca noticed the fragrance in the necklace right away. Vervain. If Stefan had given it to Elena that meant neither Damon nor Stefan could do any of their mind tricks on her.
"Anyway, moving on," Rebecca said, handing Elena her necklace back. "Please. What do you guys want to do that doesn't involve us being here acting awkward with each other? The truth is I asked Damon to be here -" she didn't mention when she'd asked him "- and I'm sorry if anybody has a problem with that, but he's not going anywhere until he wants to."
Rebecca had only made that little speech because Caroline was still pouting. Besides, that pretty much cleared everything up, right? She was letting Damon know she wouldn't choose her friends over him but that she wanted to spend time with them too. She was also letting him know she knew she couldn't make him do anything he didn't want to do and she didn't want to change him. If he needed changing, it was a decision for him to make. As far as she knew he was fine the way he was. Of course Damon was probably keeping things from her, but she hadn't asked him any really personal questions yet. He wasn't as open as he used to be and she didn't want to push him away by coming on too strong.
"Mr. Tanner's in trouble," Caroline said, losing a little of the attitude. "A few videos made it to the principal's office."
"Videos?"
"My cell phone," Caroline enthused. "One of his bouts of student harassment."
"Are they firing him?" Elena asked.
"Maybe."
Rebecca smiled. "Never did like that guy. Jackass history teacher."
That actually got a reaction out of Damon; his mouth twitched as if he were forcing back a smile.
"Gotta give you props for that one, Care," Rebecca said.
Caroline seemed proud of herself, and she was over her pouting spell.
The door started to open and then Rebecca's aunt walked in with groceries; apparently she'd been shopping.
"Hey, kids," she said, stepping in. "Becca, help me? Some groceries are still in the car."
"Oh, uh . . . Tina, this is Damon. Damon, this is my aunt Tina."
Damon stood up when she introduced him and took the grocery bag from Tina. So apparently he was going to be on good behavior now.
Damon Salvatore was nothing if not charming when he wanted to be. Helping Rebecca help her aunt? Charming. He had to make a good impression because Rebecca's aunt could potentially cause problems for them. Not as much as her dad could, but . . .
And excluding a split second decision, killing Rebecca's family would not be a good option.
He and Rebecca put the bags in the kitchen and Rebecca helped her aunt put the groceries away.
"What do you do, Damon?"
"Well, nothing right now. I'm, uh, legal guardian to my brother. We just moved here - or back here."
"Legal guardian? Your parents . . . I'm so sorry."
Damon gave her a polite smile. "It happened a while ago, but thank you."
Damon looked at Rebecca, who was slowly relaxing since he was being not-evil Damon right now.
"You know, I can never catch her dad here so I'd like to ask your permission to escort Rebecca to the Founder's party next week."
"You're . . . asking permission?" Tina was surprised, Damon could tell. "Finally a boy who was raised right."
Rebecca smiled openly; it reminded Damon of why he was doing this. He'd never admit it out loud, but he loved making her smile. He had before he'd been turned and he found that hadn't changed in the last 145 years.
"Well, as long as Rebecca wants to go, it's fine with me."
"Yes, please," Rebecca said, cheeks a little rosy. "Is Dad going?"
"Assuming your dad is sober," Tina said bitterly, "he will be there."
"Hm. Where is he?"
"Council meeting. He won't tell me what's so important about those things. Anyway -" Tina's voice took on a teasing tone "- what are your intentions with my niece, Damon?"
"Mostly to show her a good time next Friday night. With school and everything she needs a little fun."
He'd gone with that because the alternative of I intend to love her forever, which might entail her living forever probably wouldn't go over well.
"She has been a little down lately," Tina agreed. "I know her dad doesn't help any."
"Standing right here," Rebecca reminded them. "And I'm fine." She rolled her eyes. "I'm gonna go see if the others want something to drink."
As she walked out of the kitchen Damon heard her whisper, "Nicely done."
What? He could behave when he needed to. When it served his purpose to. It just so happened to work in his favor to be charming at the moment.
Okay, so I WANTED to have Damon have some interaction with baby Chelsea, but I don't think Damon - at this point in time - would feel comfortable with that. He's probably never had any experience with kids, so it would probably be weird for him. And as for the little scene with everyone in the living room . . . I so think Damon would get a kick out of two girls acting that way about him. Anyway . . .
Let me know what you think, as always.
Love you guys.