Okay, clearing something up, here. I know in the show Damon killed Mr. Tanner, but in this he obviously wasn't even at the football game where Mr. Tanner died. So I had to find a different was to get rid of him. LOL. And as far as I know, it's illegal for a teacher to harrass students and embarrass them they way he did in the show, so getting him fired seemed like a realistic way to do that.

Chapter Thirteen

Three days before the Founder's party Rebecca found herself shopping in Richmond with Bonnie and Elena - Caroline hadn't been able to make it. Rebecca was content with that; Caroline wasn't really talking to Rebecca or making eye contact lately. Rebecca was almost completely certain that it had nothing to do with Damon and more with the fact that a guy had chosen Rebecca over Caroline.

Back to the shopping: All three girls were looking for a dress. Rebecca wasn't picky and she was a fast shopper. She knew she wanted something the moment she saw it, and what she wanted now was a pale blue, silk-and lace number.

The bottom flowed down to just above her knees; it was one of those dresses that twirled when you spun - those were her favorite kind. The bottom was silky and it led to the lacy top. The top half was sheer and almost see-through; almost but not quite. The dress had a clasp that attached at the back of her neck to keep everything covered that should be covered.

"Ooh, that's pretty," Elena said. "But now you're gonna have to wait for us and you know that will take forever."

"As long as that's not a literal forever take you're time." Rebecca wanted to look for more clothes anyway; what with her new hobby she needed to extend her wardrobe.

"So . . . You and Damon . . ." Bonnie started. "Are you together now?"

"No," Rebecca said a little too quickly. "I mean . . . I like him. I just don't . . . know him. Well, sometimes it's like he's right there and then the next I don't even know who I'm talking to."

It was true. They could be in the middle of a conversation and then she'd say something and he would either find a reason to leave or he'd act distant. She guessed she'd need to get used to it if she was going to continue to hang around him.

"Hm. Same with Stefan. He won't talk about himself much and when he does it's only half-answers or sometimes even non-answers. There's just so much that's . . . strange about him."

"What d'you mean?" Rebecca asked.

Was Elena getting close to the truth? Was she suspicious of vampirism at all?

"Well, he shows up out of nowhere. Though now that I mention it Damon does that too. But anyway, Stefan . . . One second he's there and then he just disappears. And then last Friday at the game I saw him cut his hand, but then there was no wound. All he said is 'I'm fine' and 'it's not my blood'. But I know what I saw."

"Hm."

Rebecca couldn't say anything without either lying or nudging Elena gently in the right direction. Or wrong direction, depending on how you looked at it.

"And then Bonnie's vision -"

"It wasn't a vision. I told you it was more a . . . feeling," Bonnie said. "A cold, bad feeling."

Rebecca busied herself with looking through the shirts that were in display. The girls would probably see the guilty yet sheepish look on her face if she looked at them.

She wished she could talk to them. She wished she could talk to someone other than Damon and Sheila and Diana about her Slayer thing. Yes, Damon was good to talk to about some things, but with others it was hard to tell if he was being serious or not. And Sheila and Diana were too biased to be fair.

And no offense to Damon, but sometimes . . . Sometimes she wanted someone human to talk to. Someone who could understand the way humans felt. She wasn't sure Damon did anymore; if he did, he refused to acknowledge it.

"So what do you think?" Elena asked Rebecca, holding up a red-ish dress that had flower designs on it in lighter red tones.

"It's pretty . . . It's shiny." Silky. Rebecca liked silk. "Have you asked Stefan to go yet?"

Elena looked down. "No. Not sure he wants to."

"You won't know until you ask," Bonnie said softly. Then, "I take it you're going with Damon?"

"Yes, but only because he wanted to go. I was planning on being conveniently unavailable that night, but . . ."

"Are you going as friends?" Elena asked cautiously.

"Yes. Um . . . He is - uh, it's complicated. But he does want to be with me. It's just . . . I need time and I think he does too. I told him if he wanted to be with me then he couldn't be with Caroline. That I wouldn't be that girl."

"So he did break up with her because of you?"

"Yes."

"Do you think it could get serious?"

"Um . . . Maybe. Define serious."

Elena and Bonnie smiled.

"Do you think you can love him?"

Rebecca flushed furiously. "Um . . . I think I kind of already do. A little. It's, again, complicated. But I feel . . . really close to him. It's crazy and irrational, but yeah . . . I think I kind of love him."

Elena shook her head, but Bonnie just kept looking at Rebecca. Looking suspiciously, like she'd never seen Rebecca before.

"What?"

"Who are you and what have you done with my friend?"

Rebecca averted her eyes. "What d'you mean?"

"You know . . . You're different. You've had to have noticed."

Elena nodded her agreement.

"It's hard to explain," Rebecca dodged. "I mean, I know I dropped out of my activities and all, but that's just . . . They weren't for me anymore. I'm just changing, that's all. Damon is a part of it. I mean, he's in my life. But for the most part . . . it's me."

She wished she could explain to them why she was changing but she couldn't; not yet.

"Hey, I have to pick up a few things at the bank for the Founder's party," Elena said. "Do you guys want to come with me or should I drop you off first?"

All three of them had the dress they wanted. Rebecca had nothing else planned for that night so she agreed to go. She didn't spend nearly enough time lately with Elena and Bonnie, so she was glad she was able to do this.

Rebecca had had the week off because Diana thought Rebecca was still hurt. She played it up a little so she'd have more time off. Every time she fought she could get hurt or worse so avoiding fighting seemed to be the smart thing to do. Actually, she thought, staying away from vampires altogether would be the smart thing to do, but . . .

"What're you getting?" Bonnie asked.

"A few family heirlooms. No big deal."

It started sprinkling then and Rebecca groaned. She didn't like being in a car when it was raining; some people drove like morons and were dangerous. The sky was starting to darken a little, too. Maybe it was going to storm. Then something occurred to her that had nothing to do with the weather.

"Bonnie, who are you going with?"

"Caroline."

Elena, Bonnie and Rebecca went into the bank together and Rebecca looked through a few items from a safe deposit box. Elena didn't mind; her, Rebecca and Bonnie were like sisters. It was mostly just jewelry, but there was also an old pocket watch. Only . . . It wasn't a pocket watch. Rebecca recognized it as the compass from 1864. Jonathan Gilbert's compass had been turned into a pocket watch?

As the three girls walked back out to Elena's car a clap of thunder filled the air. Rebecca actually jumped a little; then she laughed at herself. Jeeze, she needed to chill.

"Someone's jumpy," Elena teased. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing . . . Or, I don't know. Maybe something, I just don't know what."

"Okay then . . ."

Neither Bonnie nor Elena said anything about her vague answer, but Elena did ask her to come over the day of the party to get ready.

"Oh, uh . . . Yeah. I've got to make sure my dad isn't planning on me going with him, but other than that, sure."

"Cool."

When Elena dropped Rebecca off Rebecca noticed that the lights were off on her street. Great. As soon as she stepped in the house she heard Chelsea crying - screaming, really - and saw Tina standing up and swaying back and forth. Chelsea didn't like storms.

Robert was drinking again, but he didn't seem to be drunk.

"Hey," Rebecca said and went to Chelsea.

Her sister was teething now and had been in a fussy mood for a few days. Rebecca had gotten her some baby Tylenol for the fever that came with it. Chelsea had a chew toy too but mostly she just chewed on her own fist.

"Elena wants me to come over on Friday to get ready with her. If you don't want me to go with you, I'd very much like to go over there."

"Do what you want," her father mumbled. "It's not like you're really here anyway. I never see you anymore. Coming and going as you please."

"Dad, don't start, okay? I have a life outside of this house, outside of this family. I can't stay here all the time."

"Then how about any time. I never know where you are, I don't know what you're doing. There was blood on your sheets the other night. You tried to wash it, but the stain was still there."

Oh, God. Rebecca closed her eyes. She thought she'd been careful, but apparently she hadn't been. Why hadn't Robert said anything before now? Had he been waiting for her to come to him?

"I got hurt and I came home and laid down. It wasn't that bad and I'm not hurt anymore. I didn't want to worry you guys."

Robert was still angry, but he seemed kind of hurt and shocked too. Tina didn't seem to know what Robert had been talking about so Rebecca assumed that meant he hadn't told her.

"Well, how did you get hurt?" her dad asked.

"Uh, a few friends and I were playing around and I hit my shoulder on something. It cut into it but I'm fine now. I promise."

"Why didn't you come to me?" he asked.

Rebecca's throat tightened and her eyes began to sting.

"Because I didn't know I could," she whispered thickly. She was finding it hard to talk. "You're always at work and when you're not . . . You're always drinking. It's you that's never here, not me." She wasn't just talking physically. She felt better since she'd said those words out loud.

"And we fight all the time," she said, her voice beginning to crack.

Robert looked like he knew that and he didn't say anything to defend himself.

"I didn't know it bothered you, you never say anything, and you never let me in. How am I supposed to know when you need me?"

"Because I'm your daughter!" Rebecca yelled and it made Chelsea, who was now in her arms, start crying again. "You're automatically supposed to sense these things! If you paid any attention to me at all you would've noticed the way I've been acting . . . How different I am."

"If I had asked, would you have told me?" Robert asked, and the anger deflated from Rebecca's body.

"No, probably not. I just . . . wanted you to notice, that's all."

Once in her room Rebecca called Damon mostly because she wanted to hear his voice, but also because she needed to tell him about the compass/pocket watch thing.

Chelsea was still whining, but now that Rebecca had calmed down so had she.

"What?" was the 'hello' she got from Damon when he answered.

"What? That's kind of rude, don't you think?"

"And?"

She sighed. "Nothing, never mind. I called to tell you to be careful. I went to the bank with Elena today - she had to get a few things from a safe deposit box for the Founder's party; a heritage thing or something. Anyway, one of those things was the compass from 1864 - the one Jonathan Gilbert made."

"Well, I can go get it, problem solved," Damon said.

"No, you can't just take it from her house. She'll notice that it's gone. Wait until the party. Other people will be there, so the list of people who could take it will be longer. I'm pretty sure you can swipe it without anybody seeing."

There was a slight pause and then Damon said, "Did you really call just to warn me?"

Rebecca shrugged even though he couldn't see. "You have my back, I have yours. That's what friends do. You . . . do know what it's like to have a friend?"

"To be honest I had forgotten."

That's so sad, Rebecca thought, feeling her chest tighten.

"Well, I've been told I'm a very good friend. I'll help steer you around the curves."

"Friendships are curvy?" Damon seemed amused now.

"Metaphorical curves." She smiled a little. "I just meant that I can help you with the friendship thing, if you want me to. It's gotta be lonely and no one should be completely alone. So . . . How about it? Friends?"

Rebecca could imagine the cogs turning in Damon's head. He was probably wondering if she was being serious. She knew how he thought. He was probably wondering how someone like her could happen to someone like him.

"We can try," he said softly. "I'm probably not a good friend for you, though."

What, was he Edward Cullen all of a sudden? She hoped not, because Edward was boring and stuffy.

"I think I should be the one to decide that, don't you?" she asked gently.

"Just . . . thought I'd warn you."

"Well, thank you." She smiled again. "We were best friends once. We can get there again, if you'll let us. Okay?"

"Mm-hm."

"Okay. Now, Friday I'm gonna be at Elena's so . . . Did you want to pick me up there or did you want to just meet me at the party?"

"I'll pick you up there."

"Cool. Well . . . Um, see you then, I guess."

"Uh-huh."

Friday morning Rebecca found herself at Elena's. She'd brought her shampoo and soap and stuff so she could shower and get ready. Her dress was still in the bag she'd bought it in.

Right now she was in the kitchen with Bonnie and Elena; Jenna and Jeremy were upstairs - Jeremy wasn't going, but Jenna was. Bonnie, Elena and Rebecca were picking out their makeup; Rebecca was going with shimmery eye-shadow and a nude lip gloss - simple yet pretty. Rebecca hated excessive makeup. Some people could pull it off, she guessed, but she wasn't one of them.

Tyler showed up to pick up the stuff for the Founder's party, but other than that there were no interruptions.

"Delicate Flower versus Naughty Vixen," Bonnie said, holding up two different nail polishes.

"Tough call. Can we mix them?" Elena asked.

"Look at you, getting all pretty for you date. You seem happy-ish."

"I am-ish," Elena agreed. Elena had asked Stefan to go and he'd agreed without a problem. "Tonight's gonna be a good night. But don't let that stop you from telling me whatever it is you wanted to tell me as soon as you walked in the door."

"What if I tell you in the morning?" Bonnie asked, not making eye contact. "I don't wanna ruin the night."

"Are you moving?" Rebecca asked. "Or sick?"

Bonnie looked her way with wide eyes. "No."

"Then you won't ruin the night."

"Okay, but it has to go in the vault because Caroline will kill me if it gets back to Damon that she squealed."

"Uh-huh."

Rebecca sat up straighter. What had Damon been telling Caroline? Obviously it was bad or Bonnie would have been okay to talk about it.

"Apparently Stefan has a very interesting back-story. Do you know what happened with his ex-girlfriend Katherine?"

"I know they both dated her and that's why they have issues," Elena said, paying close attention.

"Yeah, they both dated her, only she chose Damon. And that drove Stefan mad, so he did horrible things to try and break them up. He manipulated Katherine, he filled her head with all these lies until finally it worked and she turned against Damon."

"That sounds like one person's side of the story, meaning Damon's," Elena said.

"I just wanted you to know," Bonnie said.

"Anyway, his past relationships are none of my business."

"Unless he's a calculating, manipulative liar. That is your business."

"Katherine was the calculating, manipulative liar," Rebecca blurted out.

"What?" both Bonnie and Elena asked.

"Uh . . ." Rebecca bit her lip. "Which nail pol -"

"Uh-uh," Elena interrupted. "What d'you know?"

Rebecca grimaced. "Look, I don't really know Stefan, okay? But I do know the story behind Katherine. Just don't tell anyone I told you, okay?"

Both Bonnie and Elena sealed their lips and threw away the invisible keys.

"Okay. Katherine was a bitch, first and foremost. She only cared about herself. She played Damon and Stefan against each other. She used their emotions against them; she made them think they loved her. Um . . . The rest of the story is not mine to tell, but, long story short, Stefan accidentally hurt someone Damon cared very much about. Damon stopped trusting Stefan after that. One of the worst things to do is betray someone and in Damon's eyes . . . that's what Stefan did."

"But . . . If it was an accident," Bonnie started, "shouldn't he just get over it?"

"You'd think," Rebecca said. Especially after 145 years.

"Wait, how'd you know?" Elena asked. "Something tells me Damon didn't tell you."

"Uh . . . Damon can be open when he wants to be." Which was true when he'd been human, so she wasn't lying . . . Technically. "I know the story. When it comes to Katherine neither brother is the bad guy. They were the victims in that."

Around six Mrs. Lockwood called because the Gilbert pocket watch was missing from the collection of things Tyler had picked up. Jeremy had taken it; it was supposed to have gone to him anyway. He and Elena argued about it but, in the end, Jeremy got to keep it.

It was a little after that when Rebecca was putting the finishing touches on her hair - she was letting it fall in ringlets; it still reached her waist - that Elena called up the stairs, "Damon's here, Becca."

"Coming," she called back.

She put her silver ballet flats on - she had them in almost every color - and made her way downstairs. Damon was waiting at the bottom - he was in his usual black, only now it was formalwear. She smiled when he just stopped and stared, and she felt heat fill her cheeks.

"Hello, Damon."

When she reached the bottom he held out his arm for her to grab and she looped hers around it.

"You look stunning," he said in her ear.

"You clean up nice yourself," she replied.

Bonnie and Elena looked at them, amused.

"Oh yeah, you're just friends," Elena teased.

"Obviously," Bonnie added, smiling a little.

"Shush," Rebecca told them. "No more teasing."

She looked at Damon and nodded at the door. "You ready?"

"Sure."

"Kay. Uh, see you guys there."

Outside, Damon opened the car door for her and she slipped inside, tucking her dress underneath her. She was . . . a little excited and she hoped the night would be good. Or at least not a complete disaster. She knew something would go wrong; it was inevitable. She wasn't pessimistic, just realistic.

When Damon got in the driver's seat she began speaking. "Jeremy has the compass. He took it and Elena didn't have the heart to take it from him. It does belong to him. And he doesn't know what it's for, so you should be safe. Uh, I'll keep an eye out, though, just in case."

"Hm." Damon's face remained expressionless. "We have bigger problems. Someone is growing vervain, somewhere. Uh, Elena's necklace; Stefan tried to dose me with some."

Rebecca scoffed. "You two are so dysfunctional." She sighed. "I don't know where he's getting it. Uh . . . I know Sheila had some to give to me, but I don't know where she got hers either. But, as always, I'll help. All you have to do is ask."

Damon looked her way slowly and he narrowed his eyes. He was, again, probably wondering if she were being serious.

"Just like that?"

She smiled. "Yes. Friends, remember?" She bit her lip as she was prone to do. "I know you're not used to that anymore and it's going to take you a while to trust me again, but you did trust me once and what I told you before still stands. I won't ever deliberately hurt you. I still care about you even though you're different. It doesn't change anything for me, Damon."

Damon had stopped breathing for a second. She'd made him speechless; she had a tendency to do that because she was always honest when she spoke to him. He fought off the sudden wave of emotion her words had brought up; even though he had complete control now, emotions made him feel out of control. They still led to hunger - thirst - because every emotion he felt was heightened. He'd not felt anything real since Rebecca had disappeared 145 years ago, and he was experiencing everything like it was the first time. It threw him a little, and he didn't like it.

The only other thing to do was to keep Rebecca out of his life, but that wasn't even an option. He'd waited 145 years, so to keep her out would defeat the purpose of why he'd survived to get to her again.

"So . . ." Changing the subject. "What're the Lockwood's like?"

"Ugh!" Rebecca's lip curled in disgust. "I can't stand any of them. Mrs. Lockwood is a bitch, Mr. Lockwood is a bastard, and Tyler is a dick. Though, with parents like his, how could he be any different?"

Damon almost laughed. He had never heard her be so negative about anyone. These Lockwood's must be terrible.

"Such language. It's not proper etiquette for a lady," he teased.

"Never claimed to be one," she admitted.

He felt her looking at him even though he was looking at the road.

"What?"

"If I ask you something, do you promise to give me an honest answer?"

"Depends what you ask." He smirked. "And that was an honest answer."

"Okay, well . . . What're you doing? With Stefan and Elena? He's a calculating, manipulative liar? Are . . . you trying to break them up?" Her heart sped up a little; Damon heard it. "Because if you are, I kind of ruined that plan. I told her the truth about Katherine; some of it, anyway. That she played you guys against each other. I wasn't gonna, but then I just sort of blurted it out."

"Well, that's . . . inconvenient," he muttered. He couldn't bring himself to be angry, though, not with her. He knew she was an honest individual. He guessed if he needed her to back him up with a lie then he should probably warn her first. Let her in, a little. She probably couldn't lie at the drop of a hat; not like he could.

Of course he'd had time to perfect his poker face. Then again Rebecca had worked her way into the Council in 1864 and she'd done it artfully. So there was a hidden devil under the angel exterior.

"Uh . . . Inconvenient?" Rebecca brought him out of his thoughts.

"I wanna make Stefan miserable." He shrugged; he hated his brother, Rebecca knew that, so what was the big deal?

"Yeah, but you're putting Elena in the middle of it and now she's gonna be miserable. She doesn't deserve that. Now, I know I can't tell you what to do, but please think before you try and get between them again. I mean, Elena's my friend, too, and I don't wanna have to choose between you two."

"Because it'll be her?" He should've known. No one ever put him first.

"No, it would probably be you. But I would resent you for making me choose."

She slid a little closer and Damon tightened his hands on the wheel so he wouldn't do anything stupid like put his arm around her.

"I remember how you were, how you can be, so I can be patient. I mean, it's buried deep but it's still there. You may not want to acknowledge it but it is. I can wait. But the moment I see it, you'll be the first to know."

He heard her chuckle uncomfortably. "Okay, enough of this caring and sharing stuff. Are you gonna dance with me tonight?"

He looked at her briefly and smiled. "I would never turn down a dance from the most beautiful woman there."

Her eyes sparkled with happiness but she still said, "You are full of it, but . . . The compliments are nice." Her eyes dimmed a little. "My dad's gonna be there. Uh, he's probably gonna wanna talk to you. And he's not as fun-loving as my aunt, so can you at least try to be serious?"

"I do know how to behave, Rebecca." He fought the urge to roll his eyes. "You worry too much. I can get along with anybody when I want to."

"Yeah, when you want to," Rebecca muttered grumpily.

"It would not be in my best interest to antagonize your father. He could make your life very difficult, socially speaking. And I happen to like spending time with you, so I'll behave, okay?"

"Thank you," she said simply but sincerely.

He still wasn't used to anyone being grateful to him for anything. Granted, he usually didn't do anything to get thanked for. He usually just ate and left. Occasionally he would spend the night, sleep with the girl if she interested him in any way, but he still left first thing in the morning.

He'd never spent the night just holding a girl - not since 1864 anyway - that was for sure. He'd never felt the need to comfort them either; that was strictly a Rebecca thing, he guessed. He hadn't . . . hated it exactly - the comforting thing - but he wasn't used to it and it wasn't easy for him. Actually, like most men, he wanted to flee at the first sign of a sobbing woman, but the conflicting emotion of also wanting Rebecca to feel better had made him stay that one night.

Emotions suck, Damon thought. They're so confusing; no wonder I shut them off.

Okay, so this chapter was pretty much just a pre-date thing, I guess you could say.

Hope you enjoyed!