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Now, on with the story . . .
Chapter Twenty
Once Stefan came back from making coffee Rebecca let him get between Vicki and Elena. Stefan was on one side of Vicki and Rebecca was on the other.
Stefan explained his diet of animal blood and why he did it - so he wouldn't hurt innocent people - and Rebecca started to respect him a little more than she had before.
"Well, what if I wanna drink human blood?"
"You're gonna have to learn to live with that urge," Stefan replied. "And fight it on a daily basis, one day at a time."
"Oh, God." Vicki rolled her eyes. "Don't start with that whole 12-steps thing. The school counselor has been down that road; it doesn't work for me."
"It can work. It's your choice, Vicki."
"So you've never tasted human blood?" Vicki wondered out loud.
"Of course he has," Rebecca said. "He wouldn't be a vampire if he hadn't. It takes human blood to turn."
"But I haven't had human blood in a long time."
"How long?" Vicki pushed.
"Years and years," Stefan answered, obviously uncomfortable with the route the conversation was going, though Elena seemed interested.
Rebecca knew that Vicki was only being this way because she was desperately hungry and she wasn't getting what she wanted. Vicki had been a petulant child, anyway, but add in the hunger and the new vampirism and she was even worse.
"Leave it, Vicki," Rebecca whispered in Vicki's ear, but she knew Stefan would hear. "He's trying to help you."
"I'm not proud of my past behavior," Stefan said.
"Ugh!" Vicki groaned, temporarily distracted. "Does this sketchy feeling ever go away? It's like I have a massive hangover. And this daylight thing is a bitch!"
Vicki was becoming agitated, and an agitated vampire was never a good thing.
"I need more blood." Vicki stood up. "Where's your bathroom? I have to pee." She became confused. "Why do I have to pee? I thought I was dead."
Rebecca bit her lip, holding back a grin, as Vicki stalked off. Neither Stefan nor Damon had been like Vicki. Stefan had been terrifying; Damon had been himself only more extreme. Vicki was a little spazzy, but in an amusing sort of way.
"I'm gonna go get her some more blood," Stefan said. "I'll be quick."
Once Stefan was gone Elena stood up and began pacing. Then she looked at Rebecca. "How are you so calm? How are you not freaking out?"
"I've had longer to get used to it."
"Not that much longer."
"Um . . . Actually, that spell lasted for almost three months. When I came back I started right where I left off, so . . ."
Rebecca had never thought about it, but it was a good thing that she had been able to pick up where she'd left off; she'd never have been able to explain where she'd been.
"Oh."
Vicki came back then, still agitated, and Rebecca stood up because she suddenly felt vulnerable sitting down. She didn't know if it was her Slayer thing telling her to stand up because Vicki was agitated or if it was common sense telling her to.
"False alarm. My body's feeling really funky. It's a good funk, but it's weird."
Things were uncomfortably silent until Vicki took out her phone and Elena asked who she was calling.
"Jeremy," Vicki answered casually.
"Vicki, you can't see Jeremy anymore; you could hurt him."
"I would never hurt Jeremy," Vicki said firmly.
"I know you think that," Elena said, moving closer to Vicki. "But I can't take that risk. You're gonna have to let Jeremy go now."
"Oh, really?" Vicki slammed her phone down on the table. "And how long have you been preparing the you're-not-good-enough speech? I'm assuming it predates the whole vampire thing."
"All I'm saying is Jeremy is not getting involved in any of this. I mean it, Vicki."
"Hm. Or what?" There was suddenly a malicious look in Vicki's eyes, and it was directed at Elena.
Uh-oh, Rebecca thought.
And then Vicki had Elena slammed up against the wall with her hand at Elena's throat.
"Let's get one thing straight, you perky little bitch. You had my brother whipped for 15 years. 15 years! And then you dumped him. When I look at you that is all I see, just so you know. And I'm gonna see Jeremy whenever I wanna see Jeremy, because I have some fun new toys to play with, and I won't think twice about ripping you're little head off. Ya got it?"
Rebecca had been ready and waiting to see what would happen. Just like with Damon, she didn't want to have to fight unless she had to - when she fought a part of her she wished wasn't there came out, so avoiding fighting seemed like a good idea. But Vicki had let go of her own accord, so she had enough control over her anger, it seemed.
Vicki stormed upstairs and Rebecca helped Elena sit down.
"You okay?"
"You didn't do anything. Why didn't you do anything?"
"One, I didn't have to. Two, I needed to see how much control she had. Three, I needed you to see what happens when you piss off vampires. You're a regular human, Elena, they can break you like a twig."
"So, what . . . I'm supposed to crawl under a rock and hide?"
"No, but you shouldn't antagonize them either. And I'm . . . I know you're worried about Jeremy, but if she had any real feelings for him at all when she was human, they're magnified now. Anyone that stands in the way of her being with him will be seen as a threat and she will deal with it the only natural way she knows how to now. By attacking. It's in her nature, and she's new, she's not going to be able to control it. If she sees Jeremy as hers - which she does now - she'll crave his attention as much as she craves his blood."
"Which is exactly why he can't be near her," Elena said. She stood back up. "I think I should go."
"Okay. Do you want me to call you later? Or . . ."
"I would like to know when she gets better."
"Okay, come on."
Rebecca walked Elena to the front door - precaution - and led her outside into the sunlight where Vicki couldn't follow.
"Stefan!" Rebecca called out, and Elena looked around like she was expecting to see him. "He's not here, but, if he's near, he'll have heard me. Vampires have super-hearing."
"Oh . . ."
Elena put a hand to her throat and Rebecca caught her arm to stop her.
"Let me see," she requested and began inspecting the area. It was red but there were no bruises. "You're gonna be fine. Does it hurt to talk or -"
"What happened?" Stefan's voice came from behind her. As always, Rebecca had felt him so he couldn't sneak up on her. He was looking worriedly at Elena.
"She threatened me," Elena exclaimed.
Stefan nodded understandingly. "She's on edge."
"Because she's hungry," Rebecca pointed out. "Add in her other issues and it's a miracle she hasn't already killed somebody."
"Yes, imagine every sense in your body acting on super-speed. She's uncomfortable in her own skin."
"Well, how long before it settles?" Elena asked, trying to understand. "Hours, days, weeks?"
"There's no rulebook."
"Well, how long before you learned to control it?"
"A while. But I didn't have anybody helping me. I had to do it on my own. The thing is, it's hard to resist certain people, especially when you're new. It's difficult to separate your feelings; love, lust, anger, desire. It can all blur into one urge: Hunger."
"What does that mean?" Elena asked.
"It means that Jeremy can't see her, not now. She might not be able to resist him, and she could hurt him."
"Or worse," Elena said.
Elena looked like she didn't know what to say, and Rebecca felt for her, she really did. She remembered what it was like when she'd first found out about all this. She'd been in a state of disbelief, too, until she'd killed her first vampire; that's when everything had hit her. Everything meaning that all of it was real.
"I need to get going," Elena said. "There's only so much I can take."
With that, Elena walked away. Rebecca gave Stefan a moment to brood and then she reminded him about the blood.
"Right."
Rebecca shrugged and began to go back into the house. But then Stefan caught her wrist. She looked down at his hand and then up at him. She was pretty sure her expression was of the 'get your hand off me' variety.
"I'd like to talk to you first."
"You have to touch me to talk to me?"
He let her go like he hadn't even remembered he'd had hold of her wrist.
"I wanted to thank you for not saying anything earlier about me. When Vicki -"
"Oh, that?" Rebecca smiled. "Stefan, that . . . Um, okay, I saw how uncomfortable you were and that was not the time to be discussing the past. Plus, aside from locking Damon up, you're not that bad. I even understand why you did it, if I let myself think of it the way you do. And I'd like to be able to get along with you, okay? And besides . . . That story about what you were . . . That's yours to tell, not mine. I would never tell Elena because it's not my place."
Rebecca was talking so fast her words had begun to bleed together and Stefan looked amused. Ass.
"How is it that out of me and Damon, I'm the one that makes you nervous?"
"Um . . . Because I know Damon. I don't know you." Rebecca frowned now and hit him on the arm, hard - if he'd been human, she'd have broken his arm. "And what'd you mean no one helped you? I tried and you wouldn't listen."
Stefan grimaced, rubbing his arm. He obviously knew she was right, and she'd obviously hurt him. Unless he was just pretending, which didn't seem like a Stefan thing to do.
"Was that it?" Rebecca asked, looking around. She still wasn't completely comfortable being alone with Stefan. She didn't think that was weird and he would probably understand if she told him that.
"No. I wanted to say you shouldn't give up your human friends. You shouldn't quit school. You shut out everything human and normal, you're going to become less human yourself."
Rebecca's gaze softened because she could tell he was genuinely concerned for her well-being.
"I'm not shutting my human friends out, Stefan. Elena needs to deal with this on her own; Bonnie has her own thing going on, so I don't wanna intrude; Caroline's off in her own little world; Jeremy's worried about Vicki and I can't stand lying to him. We all have lives outside of each other, but that's okay. And the school thing . . . I'm happy to graduate early. It's one less thing to worry about."
"So, it's not about Damon?" Stefan asked carefully. Damon was not neutral territory for them.
"Sorry, no." Rebecca grinned a little. "Damon had nothing to do with my decision, though the fact that I will get to see him more is a bonus. But I just . . . I think it'll be good. Because if this is going to be my life now, then I'm gonna need all the free time I can get."
"We can take care of this without you, ya know," Stefan said softly. "If you don't feel like doing this."
"No, I can handle it," Rebecca stated firmly. "Just not alone."
Back inside the house Rebecca called for Vicki, and she appeared at the top of the stairs. Rebecca walked calmly up the steps and stopped beside her.
"Is Stefan back yet?"
"He'll be back shortly. Vicki . . . You gotta try and relax or it'll be worse."
She nodded and breathed through it. "How do you know so much about vampires?"
"My . . . job." Was that even the right word? "Or . . . calling? Whatever, the point is I know about you, and I'm not a threat to you as long as you're not a threat to me or the people I care about."
Vicki looked down for a second and then back up. Rebecca was surprised to see uncertainty all over her face.
"What?"
"Could I really hurt Jeremy?"
"Yes," Rebecca said honestly. "You could kill Jeremy. Sometimes vampires lose control; even the more experienced ones. You shouldn't be with him alone, if you're planning on being with him at all."
"I want to see him," Vicki said. "I need to see him."
"I'll talk to them, okay? You still need to be careful. The feelings you have for him could easily turn into obsession and that's not healthy. For either of you."
The only reason Rebecca was agreeing to all this was because she thought if Vicki had a connection to her human life, it would help make the transition easier. After all, it had helped Damon tremendously when he'd first turned.
Damon walked into the boardinghouse after having been at the Grill - he'd been eavesdropping, which probably wasn't even considered eavesdropping since he had super-hearing - and immediately heard Rebecca's heartbeat. He hadn't consciously been trying to search it out, but he'd automatically heard it. What was that about?
Don't overanalyze, he told himself. She's here and that's all that matters. It's what you've wanted all this time.
He could tell she was asleep just from the rhythm of her heart but he followed the sound anyway. Stefan had obviously showed her Damon's room, because that's where she was curled up on the bed.
Her mouth was slightly open and her face was more peaceful than Damon had seen in a while. Her long honey-blond hair flowed out behind her, and he vaguely wondered how she did anything without it getting in the way.
He sat beside her and when she didn't move he caressed her cheek softly, while also worrying about the fact that she couldn't seem to feel that he was there when she was sleeping. That was a weakness that other vampires would exploit. She did, however, feel his fingers on her skin because she smacked his hand away and rubbed her cheek; apparently she was ticklish. She turned on her other side and Damon smirked.
He even felt an unfamiliar something building in his chest . . . It wasn't a bad thing, exactly, but . . . What was it? Then a few genuine huffs of laughter left his mouth until he covered his lips with his hand. He couldn't remember the last time he'd laughed like that; the last time he'd laughed and meant it. And it felt good, so good that he wondered why he'd ever stopped wanting to feel that in the first place.
"Damon?" Rebecca was awake now and he looked at her, still feeling happy - was that the right emotion? - and saw she was wiping the sleep from her eyes with the back of her hand.
"Yes?"
"Were you just laughing?"
"Uh-huh."
"What, was I snoring or something?"
"No, I just . . ." Damon was at a loss for words. How was he supposed to explain this to her . . . Explain that he didn't know how to feel, or didn't know how his feelings felt . . .?
"You're happy and you're not used to it?" she offered for him. Thank the Lord, or whatever higher being was watching over this moment.
"Yes."
"It's okay to feel that way, Damon. Happiness is what makes the bad stuff less hard. It evens it out a bit. Besides, I'm supposed to help make you happy; that's what I'm here for."
"Right," Damon said softly. "Can I . . . ask you something without you getting offended?"
And why was he asking her all of a sudden? Why did he have to care about him looking like an idiot or something worse in her eyes? It was infuriating how she could reduce him to someone that was seeking her approval.
"Ask me anything," she said.
"Why're you so nice to me? I mean, it's . . . good. But why? After 145 years, how did you know I wouldn't just kill you?"
"I didn't," Rebecca said, looking down, "but I had to trust you. Because I knew if I didn't give then you wouldn't either. Trust and loyalty were big things for you when you were human, so I just assumed that they were still a part of you. I was hoping, anyway."
Rebecca smiled softly and bit her lip. As always, it drew Damon's attention, but he quickly recovered himself.
"As for why I'm nice to you . . . You haven't given me a reason to be otherwise."
She began to stretch with her hands over her head and Damon watched as her breasts strained against her shirt and her hips moved slightly toward him. His breathing hitched and he wondered if she was doing that on purpose. But when she sat up, now fully awake, he could tell she hadn't been.
God, she's going to be the real death of me, Damon thought.
Rebecca stayed with Damon in his room for a while; she was slightly surprised he didn't try anything - not that he had before, it was just . . . They were together now and he seemed to be a very sexual person.
On the other hand, he did respect her and she'd been perfectly clear about not wanting only a physical relationship, so . . . Maybe he was taking his time for her. Or maybe it was because he didn't want her to regret anything dealing with him or anything they did. He had to know she was a virgin, right?
Damon shocked her out of her thoughts by rubbing his thumb over her eyebrows, soothing away the tension she was now aware of.
"You're going to develop a brooding forehead if you're not careful," he teased lightly. "What're you thinkin' about?"
"Not much. Just stuff."
"That's very vague. What kind of stuff?"
Her cheeks went red and Damon smirked. Rebecca turned away from him, not wanting to see his teasing gaze.
"Stop," she muttered. "It's not funny. I mean . . . I'm not . . . Uh . . ."
She felt Damon's hand on her back and relaxed when he began rubbing soothing lines up and down her spine. Her breathing settled down and her heart rate calmed.
"You're not what?"
"You're used to sex and I'm not," she blurted out and turned back toward him. She was surprised to see his gaze wasn't teasing now; he obviously knew this was serious for her. "And I know that . . . guys get frustrated when they don't get it when they want it. And I'm pretty sure you're used to getting it whenever you want it and since I -"
He interrupted her by placing his mouth on hers - he had an almost irritating habit of doing that. If it had been anybody else, she probably would've smacked him. But as it was, she melted into the kiss almost instantly. Her body reacted on instinct and she pulled him closer and, even though she knew she didn't have to hold back with him, she still only used gentle touches with him. She was never rough with people she cared about. Besides Damon needed to get used to her loving touch because she wasn't going to stop anytime soon.
When Damon pulled back - smug as ever - she noticed he had a genuine smile on his face. It made her heart stop for a second and he glanced at her chest like he always did when her heart acted up around him. It still embarrassed her because he had that advantage over her, but she needed her heartbeat, so she digressed.
"Still worried?" His smile turned into his signature smirk.
"Um . . . No?" She was uncertain. "But I still made a valid point."
"Yes, you did," Damon allowed. "Guys do get frustrated, but I have complete control over my libido, thank you very much."
"Nobody has complete control over their libido," Rebecca countered realistically.
"Okay, then how about this? If I do get frustrated, then I won't take it out on you."
Rebecca shrugged and grinned. "Well, good, because if you did I'd have to kick your ass."
"As if you could," Damon said, getting into banter-mode.
"I so could," she said, pretending to be confident, while silently being glad that Damon was on her side; she wouldn't want to go up against him, that was for sure.
"Okay. Whatever helps you sleep at night."
Damon went back to his side of the bed and put his hands behind his head. He was surprised he felt content with just laying here talking - and, okay, kissing a little. What Rebecca had said was true - he was used to having sex whenever he wanted - but that didn't mean he was going to get angry with her.
Damon didn't get it, but he knew some girls - girls like Rebecca apparently - took their virginity very seriously. Granted, since he knew she was one, he didn't want her giving it away to anyone else but him, even though he didn't make a habit of popping cherries or turning girls into women or whatever the hell one called it.
His phone vibrated in his pocket and he noticed Rebecca had her phone out - texting. She wanted to talk without Stefan or Vicki hearing, apparently.
We need to help Vicki, because Stefan can't. Not with animal blood. And I don't want anyone dying.
"If you don't, I will. And we know that won't end well."
"And we both know I have no problem ripping your necklace off and compelling you not to do that," he said simply. He wasn't threatening, he was telling the truth. But he did get amused when her eyes developed an angry fire.
"You can't just do that whenever I do something you don't like. That would be like you changing everything about me to fit your liking and that's not fair."
"Why not?" He was trying to protect her, so what was the big deal?
"Because I'm not asking you to change at all!" she exclaimed. "I'm accepting you as you are, and if you take my free will away, that means you're not with me for me. You're with me because you wanna control me. And I won't let you do that."
"I don't wanna control you," he said, because that wasn't how he saw it. Again, if he ever compelled her it would be for her own good - like he'd done with her shoulder that one time.
Then suddenly, he was on top of her, holding her hands above her head with one of his own. Okay, maybe he liked being the one in control a little bit. He didn't like that he'd gotten the jump on her so easily, but they would discuss that later. Right now he needed to address a different matter altogether.
He ignored the gasp of surprise she let out as he restrained her - he also ignored the slight fear and the serious anger he saw in her eyes. She began to struggle and he tightened his grip enough so she'd know he had no intention of letting her go yet.
"Let me go!" she said through clenched teeth.
"No," he said, smirking. "I don't appreciate you threatening to do something life-threatening because I won't."
"I didn't -"
"Yes, you did. Unintentionally maybe, but you did."
"No, I was telling you one way or the other, it's gonna get done. Now, get off!"
Rebecca used her strength and freed her hands and was able to push him so now she was on him. Damon hid his surprise very well.
"Besides, if we don't help her, she'll . . . I don't know. I just don't want a trail of bodies that can lead back to you, okay?"
Damon sighed. Apparently it was time to do the distracting thing again, so he brought her swiftly down to meet his lips. She resisted for maybe five seconds, but then he felt her relax. He was really, really happy that she was so responsive - and speaking of responsive, if she kept wriggling, he wasn't going to be able to control his libido as completely as he'd thought.
As his tongue danced with hers he became very aware of her beating heart; it was working overtime. And he was causing it. Rebecca ran her tongue over his teeth and - hello, vampires have sensitive teeth - the sensation was so sudden it went straight to his cock and he embarrassingly let out a small moan.
She was playing with fire, but she slid her tongue over his human but still sharp canines and Damon tasted as she deliberately let her tongue be nicked. His mouth was now filled with the sweet taste of her blood. It was faint, but the fact that she'd done it on purpose kind of turned Damon on a bit.
He knew when she became aware of his stiffening member because she froze mid-kiss and lifted up so she could look at him. She obviously hadn't known the blood would have that effect on him. He was fairly certain it was more because it was her blood, and that she had done that for him.
She was torn between being amused and being bashful, he noticed.
"Um . . ."
She began to move away, but he grabbed her hips and planted her firmly on top of him right there. Maybe he was masochistic, but he needed to know what it felt like for them to be pressed together like this. He could feel the heat of her even though they both had jeans on and his mind went straight to what it would be like to have her bare in front of him, and he pressed her harder against him.
"Damon . . . Why're you torturing yourself?" Rebecca asked breathlessly. She was obviously enjoying this too.
. . .
God, she felt good like this, but she wasn't ready to do anything - though she was fairly certain it wouldn't take much prodding from the beautiful man underneath her to get her to change her mind.
I can't let him know that, she told herself. But she couldn't act like it didn't affect her either. Because it effected her a lot. Even now her skin was growing warmer from the desire coursing through her.
. . .
Damon sat up a little and latched his lips onto her neck. He nipped with blunt teeth and she gave him better access. He wasn't going to feed from her, not after nearly draining her the other day, but the fact that she was willing to let him pleased him.
"Damon, this . . . We should . . . This can't happen right now. And, like I said, you're torturing yourself."
Instead of getting lost in the huskiness of her voice or the little wanton pants that fell from her mouth, he squeezed her hips one more time and pressed himself against her center. Her eyes widened and he knew he'd sent a jolt of pleasure through her - he'd given her just a hint of the pleasure he could give her, would give her one day. Then, though he really didn't want her to move away, he placed her back on her side of the bed and pretended it wasn't one of the hardest things he'd had to do in the last 145 years.
"I'm not the only one being tortured,' he whispered teasingly, brushing her ear with his lips. "You're not going to be able to stop thinking about that for a while."
With that, he got up to leave the room. He really needed to go somewhere private so he could . . . relieve the tension. Before he walked out he caught one last glance of Rebecca on his bed; she was still catching her breath and trying to regain her usual composure.
He felt a genuine smile tug at his lips as he walked out. It was one of those smiles that you could feel inside. It threw him because, like Rebecca had said . . . He wasn't used to being happy. But he didn't want it to go away.
Rebecca was silently cursing Damon to the fiery pits of Hades for getting her worked up and then just leaving the room like he hadn't been affected at all. She had told him they couldn't do anything and yet . . . He'd done that on purpose. And now her body was hot all over and she felt restless. Like she should jump up and down so she wouldn't be so full of energy.
She squeezed her thighs together and groaned when it didn't relieve the pressure that had built up there.
Damon Salvatore was a tease, and it wasn't fair.
She got up on shaky legs and wobbled a bit. She heard a weird vibrating noise and looked at the beside table. She'd put her phone there before she'd gone to sleep, so she picked it up. Sheriff Forbes - yeah, she was on Rebecca's contact list now.
"Hello?"
Liz knew Rebecca knew about vampires and had fought a few and had won, obviously, but that was all she knew. The Slayer thing was still a secret. Rebecca hadn't felt comfortable telling a bunch of people who didn't like supernatural things that she herself was one.
"Are you alone?" the sheriff's voice held a note of authority, and Rebecca could tell this was not a social call; not that Sheriff Forbes knew how to relax and have fun at all. Rebecca didn't even know if Liz ever went home - for all she knew, Liz had a place to sleep at the police station.
"Yeah, what's up?"
"Your dad filled you in on what happened at the cemetery?"
"Yeah, I got enough, why?"
"Well, we got the coroner's report back and it was concluded that it was the work of one vampire."
"Oh?" God, her voice sounded false to her own ears. "Really?"
"Yes. The jaw pattern, the bite marks, they're the same."
"Oh, well, that's good, right? We only have to find one."
I hate this. I shouldn't have gone to her. She's so gonna know I'm lying.
"Right. It's just finding it is going to be a problem."
Rebecca had to bite her lip so she wouldn't say that vampires weren't its, they weren't things, and most of them hadn't had a choice in the matter; something had happened that wasn't their fault.
"Why?"
"Well, we've checked all the abandoned buildings and other places it could be holed up. Nothing."
"Maybe they're not living in town. They get around pretty fast."
Really, did the Council only know the drinking blood part? Because any normal human wouldn't go after something that was faster and stronger than themselves.
"I know. That wasn't the only reason I called. I talked to the mayor and he said any help is good help, so . . . I know you've got a lot on your plate, what with you wanting to graduate early, so we decided to give you the rest of the month and then after you take the test we'll see about what we can do about getting you in, okay?"
"Sounds good. Still, if you need help . . ." Rebecca let the offer stand.
"Thank you."
After they hung up, Rebecca sat back on the bed and groaned. She hated lying, she wasn't good at it, and she was always scared someone was going to call her on it. Then they'd string her up for her fraud.
Stop thinking about it for now, she told herself. Sheriff Forbes had been right; Rebecca did have a lot on her plate at the moment, more than Liz knew.
She walked out of Damon's room and went to Stefan's instead because that was where Vicki was. Vicki had to be bored stiff, having been kept inside because of the sun. Well, the sun was down now, but she still couldn't go out on her own, not now.
Vicki had the radio on some rock station and was just lying on the bed, looking up at the ceiling.
"Uh, what're you doing?"
"Just contemplating the next hundred years," she said, sounding almost gloomy.
Rebecca didn't know what to say to that, seeing as to how she herself couldn't contemplate what she was going to do from day to day - her life was that unpredictable - so she didn't say anything. She just went and sat beside the new vampire.
"I'm still hungry," Vicki said, "and you smell really good."
That's not encouraging, Rebecca thought. But, hey, at least Vicki wasn't attacking her. That was good, she guessed.
"And I'm bored."
Vicki sat up slowly and Rebecca began waiting for Vicki to get done whining; not that she didn't have a reason to complain, because she did.
"All I think about is blood, I just want some blood, I can't think about anything else. What is that about?"
"Um, well . . ." The obvious answer was 'you're hungry' but Rebecca didn't just want to say that because that wasn't the least bit helpful.
"That'll ease up," Damon said from the doorway where he was drying his hands on Stefan's robe. "You've just been cooped up all day. So let's go."
"Where?" Vicki asked, excitement now lighting her eyes.
"Your life was pathetic; your afterlife doesn't have to be."
Rebecca rolled her eyes at Damon's comment because that was . . . Rude but accurate, like most of the things he said.
"Does this mean you're helping?" Rebecca asked. The only response she got was a shrug.
Once Vicki was ready, the three of them went downstairs and was stopped by Stefan - he looked at them with disapproval.
"She's been cooped up in your room all day," Damon said. "She's not Anne Frank."
Rebecca vaguely wondered if Damon had known Anne Frank personally, and then she had one of those moments where she felt that her life was wrong on so many levels.
"This is a bad idea, Damon," Stefan said, frowning. Not that that was any different from any of the other times Rebecca was around Stefan - he didn't know how to smile anymore, she was almost certain of it.
"It's not like I'm taking her to Disneyland, we're goin' to the front yard."
Vicki was pretty much jumping up and down from the idea of going outside after being stuck inside all day. It was almost endearing, which was odd because Rebecca hadn't found Vicki endearing at all when she'd been human.
"She's a vampire, Stefan, she should know the perks."
"Like what?"
"Like . . ."
Damon moved so fast Rebecca hadn't seen him until he stopped behind Vicki. Vicki was checking the sky like she thought he could fly, which he couldn't . . . right? Sure, Rebecca had seen it in movies where vampires could fly, but she had never read it in any of her books.
When Damon touched Vicki's shoulder, Vicki spun around and looked at him with open mouthed surprise; Stefan, however, was looking on with worry, like there were so many things that could go wrong, which, admittedly, it could.
"How did you do that?"
Then Damon did it again and Stefan actually put his hands on his hips and stomped his foot.
Rebecca bit her lip and shook her head; Stefan and Damon were entertaining, to say the least, and she was glad she'd met them.
"Come on, Vicki. Live a little," Damon said, gesturing for her to try the speed she got from being a vampire. "No pun intended."
Rebecca watched as Vicki took off into the woods near the house and then a bad feeling settled in. Better late than never, right? Vicki . . . Wasn't going to come back.
"Uh . . . Tsk. My bad," Damon said like he didn't care one way or another, and Rebecca sighed semi-impatiently.
"Did you do that on purpose?" Stefan asked.
"No, I was helping." He eyed Rebecca when he said the last word and she felt like hitting him.
"No, that was you showing her she can run real fast and get away." Rebecca turned to Stefan. "We need to find her. Um . . . She would either go to Matt or Jeremy. Or there's a Halloween thing at school. And she does like to party; plus all the tasty humans."
God, Vicki could cause a massacre . . . And Damon didn't even care, Rebecca realized. And why should he? She thought bitterly, He has what he wants. Me. And I'm just . . . letting him have me even though it seems like he couldn't care less about what happens to anyone else.
"I'm gonna go to Elena's, make sure they're okay, and then I'm gonna stay there until you find Vicki, okay?"
Stefan nodded. "Yeah."
Stefan began to turn away, but much like Stefan had done to her earlier, she grabbed his wrist.
"Wait. I'm sorry. I asked Damon to help her, but I didn't think she'd run away. I just thought that he'd be able to help her with . . . The human stuff. And I don't want anybody getting hurt, including her, Stefan. Okay? So can we try not to kill her unless we have to?"
"I don't want anyone getting hurt either, Rebecca."
"Good."
She let go of his wrist and she noticed Damon was fuming silently a few feet away. Uh-oh, what was he upset about now? God, he had vampire PMS - Pissy Male Syndrome.
Well, whatever it was . . .
"Get over it," she said. "Whatever's got your boxers in a twist, get over it."
Then he turned his icy glare on her and she realized she maybe shouldn't have said that.
"You and Stefan are BFF's now?" Damon asked.
Rebecca sighed, hurt again by his distrust, and didn't dignify that with a response. She just turned around and went to her car. Her things were already in it, so she didn't need to collect them. But before she could get in, he'd backed her up against it and was invading her personal space. To her credit, she didn't so much as flinch even though she was close enough to feel his breath on her face.
"What? I can't even talk to your brother? Is that one of your rules or something?"
He had her arms in a vice-like grip, much like he had when he'd thought she'd been with Jeremy, and she was sure he was re-bruising her skin, but she refused to let him know he was hurting her. It was a pride thing.
"I'm gonna talk to whoever I want to talk to, Damon, even your brother. If . . . If you can't bring yourself to trust me, that's not my fault. That's something you have to deal with on your own. I can't help you with that. Now get your hands off me."
When she struggled he just pressed her against the car more and leaned over to whisper in her ear, "I don't like to share, Becca."
A surge of anger went through her and she shoved him away and broke his grip on her arms.
"Stop it! If you don't quit acting that way, you're not gonna have anything to share because I'm not the one letting Stefan get in the way! That's all you!"
She felt the embarrassing sting of tears and she turned away; she still didn't want him to know, to see what he was doing to her; she wasn't going to give him that satisfaction. She took a deep breath and held it for a few seconds before letting it out.
"I don't appreciate being manhandled every time you're in a bad mood, so stop it. I can take a lot, but I will not allow myself to be mistreated." She looked at him now that she didn't have the urgent need to cry. "I have more self respect than that, so keep it up, Damon, see how long this doesn't last."
With that, she left him there hoping she'd gotten through that thick skull of his.
Okay, so a slight make out session and then a fight afterwards. Sounds like a normal couple right? And yes, Damon still has trust issues, but I promise he will work them out. It's just because he's been alone for so long. Anyway, let me know what you think, please.