I know I haven't updated in a while even though I have a few chapters written already, but I've had drama in my life. My aunt lost her house, moved in with a psycho, then moved in with us after she found out about him being a psycho, and she has an 11 year old girl who follows me around like a puppy dog, so I haven't been able to get much done in the way of updating.
So . . . Previously on Vampire Diaries: Vicki died, Rebecca got upset with the entire situation, and Damon tried to comfort her.
Chapter Twenty-Two
The next morning found Rebecca waking up beside a still sleeping Damon - or maybe still sleeping; she remembered the last time that he'd been faking. She didn't freak out this time because she remembered everything from the night before; he hadn't had to compel any pain away.
She stretched out and then got up, got her clothes, and went to the bathroom. Chelsea had a good thirty minutes of sleep left, so Rebecca took a quick shower and noticed the bruises from the day before were gone. Slayers healed fast, which was why she hadn't mentioned it to Damon until he'd noticed them.
Back in her room she found Damon going through her closet. She rolled her eyes good naturedly and plopped back on her bed.
"Since you're still here I take it my dad isn't?"
"Your dad went to work and your aunt went out to breakfast with a friend."
"Oh."
Chelsea started making noises and it sounded like she was getting ready to pitch a fit, so Rebecca got up and took her sister out of the crib. Chelsea didn't like being in it unless she was sleeping.
"What're you looking for?" she asked Damon as she began the morning ritual of changing Chelsea.
"Just lookin'." Damon shrugged and turned to her with a smirk planted firmly on his lips. "You feel better?"
"Yup. Well, I'm not okay with it, but stressing about it won't help, so . . . I'll just make sure Jeremy doesn't get hurt."
Rebecca watched as Damon pulled out a few shoeboxes from a shelf and she smiled as he opened each one. They were full of pictures, so he plopped beside her and began going through them. When he'd sat on the bed it had jostled Chelsea a bit and the baby giggled.
Rebecca noticed that Damon pointedly tried to ignore that, so she didn't mention it.
Instead . . . "You are so nosy," she said fondly.
"I am not nosy. I'm curious. There is a difference."
"Which is?"
"I'm curious because I'm interested. But I'm not being annoying about it, so therefore I'm not being nosy about it."
Damon began putting the pictures back in the first box after looking at each one. He stopped on a few of them and asked questions.
The first box was of her younger years, baby stage up to age five. There were a lot of Rebecca, Elena, and Bonnie together. A lot of them had been taking at Elena's house. Elena's parents had treated Rebecca like a second daughter; it was why she, Elena, and Jeremy had the relationship they had. Before Elena's parents had died, they'd been the Three Musketeers. Jeremy and Elena hadn't always had a tense relationship; that was recent.
"You know . . . Miranda, Elena's mom, used to tell me how good and beautiful I was. She would always tell me how proud of me she was even when my own parents didn't."
Damon paused and looked at her for a second before going back to looking at the pictures. Then he smiled - genuinely - when he came across one of her playing in the rain. It was her and a three-year-old Jeremy; they had mud on their clothes and big smiles on their faces.
"I never took you for the playing in the rain type person."
"Mm. I love the rain. Especially in the summer. Even now I like to splash in the puddles every now and then."
"How undignified," Damon teased.
When Damon got to her older pictures he came across a particular picture that made Rebecca blush. It wasn't anything bad; it was just it had been taken when she'd been sixteen and she was on the beach standing next to a sand castle and she was in nothing but a black bikini - the string kind. She hadn't changed that much in the year since it had been taken; except for the grace of physical training, she looked pretty much the same.
"I think I'm keeping this one," Damon said, placing it aside.
"No way, I'm half naked there."
"Everything is covered that should've been. What's the big deal?"
"Well . . ." Rebecca couldn't really come up with a good answer, and Damon smirked when she relented. "Fine. Have it if you want it." Giving in was easier than arguing, and it was just a picture. Not anything life-altering, so . . . He could have it.
"So, what are you doing today?" he asked.
"I have to go to the library," she answered. "I have to get that book so I can study for that test. Not having to pretend to worry about school will be a relief once this is over with."
She reached over and brushed his hair out of his eyes with her fingertips. She smiled a little because he was being this Damon right now.
"What're you doing?"
"Well," he smirked, "first I need to find someone to eat. I haven't fed since . . . Vicki."
"Right."
Damon watched, fascinated, because Rebecca didn't even bat an eyelash. Most people were a little grossed out by blood-drinking - or at the very least felt awkward talking about it - but she just took it in stride.
"You're a weird little human, Miss Rebecca."
Her face lit up when he used his old name for her; how interesting.
"One has to be a little weird or else they would go crazy. But I prefer the term quirky."
"And I still say weird; it means the same thing."
"Right. Well, I have to go find something to eat, too, so . . . Feel free to look around to your heart's content. You're gonna do it anyway."
"Damn straight."
Then he did that eye thing he knew she loved and she shook her head before she leaned over to kiss him on the cheek.
"Come say bye before you leave."
Rebecca fixed a place in the living room for Chelsea to play on; Chelsea was learning to crawl and didn't like being in her highchair in the kitchen - Rebecca compromised.
Rebecca called Bonnie since Bonnie hadn't called the night before like she'd said she would. She called Bonnie's cell, then her dad's house, and then finally, after getting voicemail at both of those, she reached Bonnie at her Gram's place.
She was sorry she hadn't called; she'd just been freaked out after everything. Her going all trance-y had been a bit much for her.
"That's okay. It was a bit . . . out there. I just wanted to make sure you were okay."
"Yeah. I'm . . . fine, but I kind of need to see you. To talk. Um . . . Since I can't talk to Elena or Caroline."
"Sure, when? I need to go to the library first, so -"
"I can pick you up. We can talk on the way."
"Yeah, okay. Give me an hour."
She fixed herself a bowl of cereal since she didn't have time to cook, and fixed Chelsea her bottle. She wondered how long it would take for Chelsea to not want the bottle anymore. She was almost ten months old now, so Rebecca would have to start weaning her off of it soon.
She sat in the living room with Chelsea. She looked up when Damon came in and sat down beside her, looking as perfect as ever. No one should be able to look that good when they first wake up, but he did. Sure, his hair was messier but she didn't care. Though on him if wasn't bed hair; it was sex hair. That's what it looked like; like he'd been thoroughly sexed out.
She looked back down at her cereal as the thought passed through her mind. She didn't want him to see what she was thinking about. Damon was observant like that.
"What did the little witch want?"
"Uh, she's picking me up in an hour. She wants to talk since I'm the only one she can talk to."
"So you're the listener in the group, huh?"
Rebecca shrugged. "I'm a good listener, and hardly ever do I judge. And if I do I get over it fairly quickly. I don't let simple disagreements or differences of opinion get in the way of a friendship. I accepted that everyone's different a long time ago."
"Like Elena?" Damon smirked. "You're going to just get over her difference of opinion?"
Rebecca shrugged again, only this time she wasn't as carefree. "I still think she made a mistake and I intend to give her a big, fat 'I told you so' if it crashes down around her, but she made it very clear that it was none of my business."
It still stung when she thought about how Elena had told her that it wasn't her decision because Jeremy wasn't her brother; it had been like their whole life of friendship hadn't meant anything in that moment.
Rebecca stirred her cereal around, because she'd suddenly lost her appetite. She hated fighting with her friends. It used to not happen at all, but now it seemed like it was happening more and more.
"Ever since I told her about the Slayer thing, things have been different. It's like she doesn't trust me anymore because of it."
That was the first time she'd admitted that out loud. Elena had treated her differently because she was different, she guessed. It wasn't fair.
"Should I offer to get inappropriately violent? You say the word and she's a footnote in history. I can make it look like a terrible accident," Damon said.
Rebecca smiled a little and Damon felt a little better. He only vaguely remembered how it felt to hurt because someone else was hurting, but he didn't like seeing her unhappy. He hadn't liked it when he'd been human either.
"Hey, do you want to go out tonight? Forget about everything for a bit?" he asked.
"Go where?" she asked, fully smiling now.
"Do you like clubs?"
"Not the ones that the cops raid everyday, but sure."
"Okay, we'll leave around seven and go to one in Richmond. I know a guy, he'll let you in."
"Okay, but, uh, you're gonna have to convince my dad to let me stay out late."
"I don't think that will be a problem. He'll probably let it slide because he knew Zach."
"Right." Rebecca's face fell again. "What do I tell him about that? I mean, you know, no one's gonna see him again."
Damon could tell that for all the things she was okay to talk about, this was not one of them. He knew she knew why he'd killed Zach and she even understood it to an extent, but talking about it made her uncomfortable - or guilty, maybe.
Of course she feels guilty because she let you do it and get away with it, the now familiar and still annoying voice of his conscience said. She's got the Slayer part of her telling her what's right and that what she let you do was wrong. Then she's fighting against that for you.
Funny, he had to fight against doing things wrong, and she had to fight against doing the right thing. It didn't seem fair.
"I told Mrs. Lockwood that he went out of town; you should go with that."
"Okay. Um . . . Can I ask you a favor?"
"Mm, a sexual favor?" He grinned and did his eye thing and she flushed lightly.
"No!" she exclaimed. "Now, be serious. Please? I need for you not to feed on Caroline unless it's absolutely necessary. She remembered last time because you didn't have time to make her forget, and it really freaked her out. Besides, she's already ditzy enough without you messing with her head. It might damage her permanently."
Don't feed from Caroline? What other use did she have? She was shallow and stupid and obnoxious. But there were many girls in Mystic Falls, and he could charm any one of them.
"Fine, won't go after Caroline."
"Thank you."
He vaguely wondered if her being all nice and saying 'thank you' and treating him . . . lovingly - no other word for it - was a sweet form of manipulation. He also wondered if she knew about the power she had over him and, if she did, was she using it against him willingly?
No, he decided. She probably doesn't even know.
Rebecca didn't hate like that. Not him or anyone else. He knew she wasn't perfect; everyone had flaws no matter how deep they were hidden or buried. But she wasn't a manipulative, deceitful little bitch either. She was an honest-to-God good person, who genuinely wanted to do the right thing; she just had a little problem reconciling that with the fact that her boyfriend was a sometimes homicidal vampire.
Damon left before Bonnie had picked Rebecca up, so when Rebecca left with Bonnie, Chelsea in tow, she didn't have to have an awkward conversation with the only friend that wasn't treating her like she'd suddenly become a social leper. Well, Caroline wasn't either, but she was completely oblivious.
They were heading to the library. Bonnie looked slightly uncomfortable and was tight-lipped. Rebecca knew that meant Bonnie had something really important but probably bad to say; it was kind of like that time she hadn't wanted to tell Elena about Stefan.
"What did you want to talk about? Did something happen? Well, other than the obvious?"
"Uh . . . Can we wait? Until we get to the parking lot? I don't want to risk having an accident."
"It's that bad?"
"Well, I don't know. Part of it is bad, the other part is . . . Um . . . It can go either way, I guess."
Okay. Vague, Rebecca thought. And cryptic.
"Is this about what happened last night? What you felt or saw?"
"Sort of. I told Grams, I hope that's okay. I just didn't know what else to do."
"That's fine. If she can help, then by all means. I trust her. So . . . Speaking of asking someone for help . . . I know someone very into the supernatural, and I think if I asked her she could help me help you. I won't mention your name, I wouldn't do that, but . . . It's up to you."
"As long as you don't mention my name."
Once Bonnie was parked in the library parking lot Bonnie looked at Rebecca with a worried expression.
"Don't get mad, okay?"
"Okay."
"You've been spending a lot of time with Damon. Um . . . I thought that after Caroline, that . . . you wouldn't."
"Uh . . . Right."
Damn it, here we go again!
"How much do you really know about him?" Bonnie asked. "Because I got a weird feeling from him. Like I got from Stefan."
"The cold death-like one?" Rebecca asked, and Bonnie nodded.
Before Rebecca could continue, Chelsea started crying. She was trapped in a car seat, and Rebecca knew she hated it so she reached over the front seat to get her sister out and bring her to the front. Chelsea stopped crying almost instantly - she was maybe a little spoiled.
"Right, now . . . Uh . . . This is something I can't talk about right now. But if you knew, then the Caroline thing would almost make sense."
Rebecca looked away and out the window because she knew that, in all reality, the Caroline situation probably wouldn't make sense, actually. Nobody else but her seemed to understand that vampires needed blood to survive, and, yes, there were other ways - better ways - of getting it, but she couldn't ask Damon to stop drinking human blood.
In the back of her mind she knew that had a lot to do with the fact that she didn't want him to stop drinking human blood. She wanted him to be at his strongest so he could take care of himself. So he would heal the way he was supposed to.
"I think he's bad news, Rebecca," Bonnie said softly. "He could hurt you."
Bonnie knew about her bad boyfriend past and Rebecca knew she was just looking out for her, but she didn't know how to explain to Bonnie that Damon wasn't there to hurt her. Rebecca knew he could, of course she knew. He was a vampire, so of course he could hurt her - or worse. But even after everything, she trusted him not to hurt her on purpose.
"Okay, Bonnie, you know how you can see things sometimes? Well, have you ever tried to do it on purpose? I can show you better than I can tell you. But I can't do it right now. I can come to your Grams' house tomorrow and we can try if you want."
"I don't know," Bonnie hesitated. "This is all still new to me. What if I do something wrong and then I could hurt you."
"You won't. I've become very durable, Bonnie. Besides, your Grams' can help you."
"Right." Bonnie looked at Rebecca now, and Rebecca saw that Bonnie's eyes had softened a little and she didn't seem as uncertain. "You guys are . . . You and Damon are . . ."
Bonnie bit her lip and she shook her head. Apparently she didn't know if she should go on.
"Bonnie, spill."
"You're together. And I don't just mean now. When I got a glimpse of whatever it was last night . . . It was almost like . . . Almost like you'd been together before. Like in a different lifetime, and now you've found each other again. It was . . . powerful. Whatever it was. It felt . . . It was like you have this bond that no one can get between."
Rebecca didn't know what to say. Technically, she and Damon had been together in another life - his life. And no one could get between them, not anymore. And she hoped whatever they had, whatever they were fast becoming, that it was unbreakable; she didn't want him to ever go away, because God help her, even when he was at his worst she was still all about him. As daft a notion as it was, she didn't think another guy could ever mean as much to her.
That was when it hit her. She was still in love with Damon Salvatore. She had unwittingly lied to Elena when she'd told her that she didn't love-love Damon, because she did. Human or vampire, it didn't matter; Damon Salvatore had every little piece of her heart in the palm of his hand, and she knew now that could get her into trouble if she let it.
Once inside the library Rebecca and Bonnie went straight to the test books, and that was when Bonnie asked why Rebecca needed those particular books. And so Rebecca told Bonnie the truth, more or less; she edited the vampire parts, of course.
"But we always hung out during and after," Bonnie complained.
"We can still hang out, Bonnie. We just can't during."
"Can we? You always seem to be busy now."
Rebecca felt a jolt of guilt because she knew that was true. She was busy all the time, but it wasn't like she did it on purpose. She had to train and stuff; she couldn't just not. Considering where she lived, she needed to be able to defend herself and take care of the people she loved.
"You know what? I know it's not fair that we have to have appointments to spend time with each other, but you're one of my best friends. If you need me or want to see me, I'll make time."
Bonnie smiled a little and nodded.
Within the next hour she got a call from Jeremy, who wondered if she'd be willing to help him with his homework that weekend. Of course she told him yes, all the while wondering why he was worried about homework all of a sudden. Granted, Jeremy had been a smart and talented kid before his parents had died in the car accident, but ever since he'd just lost interest in pretty much everything. Until Vicki, and now . . . Vicki was dead and she wasn't coming back.
"So I'll see you at your Grams' tomorrow?" Rebecca asked as she and Bonnie walked out of the library, both with a few books in tow. Rebecca was thankful for her Slayer strength, because she had Chelsea in her arms too, and the girl was trying desperately to make Rebecca drop her books.
"Yes," Bonnie answered her.
"Good, now hold on one second."
Rebecca smiled when they reached Bonnie's car and she put Chelsea in her seat. She took out her phone and dialed Caroline's number; she got a more or less happy 'hello?'
"Hey, I need your help. Are you busy?"
"No."
"Meet me at my house in thirty minutes?"
"Will do."
"Thanks, Care."
"What's up?" Bonnie asked her after she hung up.
"Uh . . . I have a date tonight with Damon. We're going to a club and I need to know what to wear."
"And you're asking Caroline? About Damon?"
"Well, she doesn't have to know it's Damon I'm going with."
"Are you sure he'll . . . Um . . . What I mean is that . . . Are you going to be safe with him?"
"Yes." Rebecca smiled a little. "Perfectly safe."
She knew Bonnie was only worried so Rebecca didn't mind having to defend Damon to her. From the outside looking in, it did just seem like Damon was an abusive bastard, but from Rebecca's point of view he was a vampire who needed blood to survive.
Once at Rebecca's house Bonnie said her good-bye and Rebecca went in to wait for Caroline. She suddenly wondered if asking Caroline was a good idea, not because of the Damon thing, but because Caroline might try to dress her up as a sex kitten, which she wasn't and didn't want to look like.
When Rebecca stepped inside she instantly smelled food cooking, so she went to the kitchen. Her aunt was frying what smelled like a steak. Her shoulders were shaking and she was sniffling.
"Tina?"
Her aunt jumped like she hadn't heard Rebecca come in and close the front door. Her aunt was in tears, red faced.
"Tina . . . What's wrong?"
Tina didn't cry a lot; she wasn't the type to let every little thing get to her, so Rebecca was worried. Rebecca's first thought was Oh God, who died?
"Nothin, baby, I just . . . I went to the doctor this morning because I've been feeling a little under the weather."
"Uh-huh . . ."
Rebecca's heart began racing and she felt her throat tighten in anticipation. Oh God, something was going to happen to her aunt. Something was wrong and Rebecca hadn't even noticed.
"And? What's wrong with you?"
"I'm just a little pregnant."
Rebecca forgot to breathe for a minute until her body reminded her she needed oxygen to live. Everything began to fade and she gasped for air.
"Um . . . What?" Maybe she'd heard wrong. Hopefully she just had ear wax built up and she'd misheard the word 'pregnant'. Or maybe she was just imagining this whole conversation.
"I'm pregnant."
Ironically enough, Chelsea was still in Rebecca's arms when her aunt repeated herself. Rebecca had to force herself not to squeeze the life out of her sister.
"How? Why?" Rebecca grimaced. "Don't answer that, I don't need a diagram. I know how babies are made. What I mean is, how long . . . Um, how far along are you?"
"About a month and a half. It will be due around May or June."
Hm . . . Tina had been here for almost two months. Rebecca's mind automatically jumped to the logical conclusion.
"Are you . . . Are you boinking my dad?"
Tina looked shocked. "No! I do have a life that doesn't include you two, you know?"
"Oh . . . Well . . . Good. Why are you crying? Do you not want the baby?"
"I'm fine with the baby. I'm not sure what your father will think. I don't know if he'll let me stay here while . . ."
Rebecca sat gingerly down at the kitchen table and sat Chelsea down on her knee. Rebecca bit her lip hard enough to draw blood; this reminded her of a similar conversation she'd had with her mother when she'd found out she was pregnant.
Her mother's voice filled her head. After we had you . . . I got pregnant twice. Once when you were five and again when you were thirteen; neither pregnancy lasted more than three months.
Her response had been less than kind. Mom . . . Don't take this the wrong way, but what are you going to do with a baby? I mean, I practically had to raise myself. I already know how it's gonna end with this. You having the baby and me having to take care of it.
Her prediction had been true. Chelsea didn't have a real mother - or a real father. All she had was a sister named Rebecca.
"I was, um, supposed to go with Damon to a dance club tonight, but if you need me to stay here . . . I can - I can call and tell him."
"No," her aunt said, turning back to the steak she was fixing. "Just don't mention this to your dad, okay? I'll tell him my own way."
"Yeah, sure. That's . . . uh . . . Not a problem. Do you want me to finish the meal? Caroline's coming over to help me choose an outfit."
"No, you girls go ahead. I can do this on my own."
"Okay," she said softly. "And for what it's worth, I don't think Dad will mind."
Once Caroline arrived Rebecca did explain about Damon because she couldn't bring herself to lie to the girl. Rebecca figured she was doing enough lying as it was. Surprisingly enough, all Rebecca got from Caroline was a concerned look and a heartfelt 'be careful'.
Then Caroline bossily told her to go wash her hair, and she said she'd washed her hair that morning.
"Do it anyway. I need to blow dry your hair, make it less wavy and more volume-y."
"Fine, but I need to make a call first."
"Make it snappy."
"Yes, ma'am." Rebecca mock saluted her blond friend.
Rebecca took her phone with her to the bathroom and dialed Diana's number; she felt a little guilty about not having kept in touch with Diana, but then she reminded herself about the near death experience Diana had put her through. Rebecca shouldn't feel guilty because she hadn't done anything wrong.
"Rebecca," Diana's voice was soft and hesitant. "I haven't heard from you in a while."
"Yeah. I, uh . . . I honestly wouldn't have known what to say until now. And that's that I need your help with something weird."
"Name it," was Diana's immediate response.
"Okay. A friend of mine is having some problems - definitely supernatural. I can't give you a name because I promised I wouldn't, but I said I'd call you and ask. Can I come over Sunday and we can talk?"
"Sure, and I think we should try and fix whatever trust I broke when I took you to the warehouse with me."
"Right, we'll work on that."
Rebecca didn't really know if she'd be able to just move past whatever it was that she and Diana had problems with. It wasn't the fact that Diana had almost gotten her killed; Rebecca could almost get killed everyday; it was the fact that she had lied to get Rebecca to help her. That Rebecca didn't like.
After Rebecca had finished showering and washing her hair she went back into her room, a towel wrapped around her body and another twisted around her long hair.
"Okay, ready," Rebecca said, determined to think of nothing but the fact that she had a date with Damon. She knew he liked dancing, so the fact that that was what they were going to do didn't surprise her. She just wondered what type of club it would be. Fancy and formal was too stuffy, so it would probably be casual, which was a comfort.
Caroline had gone through Rebecca's clothes and had laid out some dark green form-fitting jeans, a thin white, almost see through, shirt, and a silver half-jacket that had lighter silver sequins on it.
To say the least, Rebecca was surprised. She had thought she'd have to beg for Caroline to choose something like this over something more reveal-y.
"What? Don't look so shocked. I would never wear this, but you aren't comfortable with sexy yet. Give it time, you'll get there."
Rebecca smiled and began getting dressed. The white T-shirt automatically led to a white underwear set. She saw in the mirror that her bra was very noticeable through the material of the shirt since it was so thin, but she could grin and bear it. Besides . . . She kind of wanted to see Damon's response to it.
The two girls made idle small talk with each other. Caroline proved to be better company than Rebecca remembered her ever being. Rebecca wondered if that was because Caroline was more or less normal - boys and school and clothes; no vampires in sight.
Meanwhile, at the boardinghouse, Damon was busy getting ready himself. His usual black on black attire - why fix what isn't broken? Damon had gone through Rebecca's music collection and had been surprised at the music she liked. Some of it was modern, of course, since she was only seventeen, but she had older music, too, from the 60s and 70s - some classic rock; Foreigner and Journey, bands like that. Back when music was great instead of just okay.
Damon figured she'd appreciate the retro-type club he wanted to take her too. She'd had way too much drama to deal with lately and he wanted to help take her mind off of it.
He'd already taken care of Robert Stone; Damon had played the perfect gentleman and had gotten what he wanted.
"Where're you goin'?" his brother's voice came from the doorway of his bedroom.
"Out," Damon said. "See, because I actually have a life, so to speak."
"You're going with Rebecca?"
"Not your concern."
"Yes, it is. Because I need to know who to blame if she somehow disappears."
The only sign that Damon showed of listening was that he paused for a split second before continuing going about his business without answering.
"I'm serious, Damon. What're you up to? You can't honestly say you still love her after 145 years. You just want her with you because you've spent so long without her."
"Stefan, please, save yourself the embarrassment and stop talking." Within seconds Damon had Stefan pinned against the wall with a hand at his throat. "More importantly, stop mouthing off about things you don't understand." Damon's hand tightened against Stefan's windpipe and he glared. "And whatever this thing is between Rebecca and me is none of your business, so stay out of it. She was there, Stefan. She knows what you did, what you are under your nice guy image. You can't pollute her mind against me. See, she knows the truth . . . That you have a need to make me look bad because you can't live with yourself."
Damon let Stefan go and backed away like nothing had happened.
"Now, I'm taking Rebecca out tonight because she's stressing over everything that's happened since you decided you wanted to starve me. Ergo . . . Partying." Damon grimaced sarcastically. "Oh, wait, I forgot, you've never heard that word before. Well, it's the opposite of everything you do, just think of it that way."
Damon walked by Stefan, who was catching his breath, and grabbed his leather jacket from a chair. It was time to go pick up Rebecca. His mood lifted at that thought.
Rebecca was on the front porch when Damon arrived and she hurriedly got in the passenger seat of his Camaro. He noticed the outfit she had on was fitting for where they were going. He also noticed, but didn't comment on, the fact that her shirt was practically see through. But, not for the first time, he thought she was a tease.
She had a black leather bag with her that she tossed into the backseat.
"Weapons," she said. "Just in case. Can't be too careful."
"Says the girl going on a date with a vampire," Damon teased.
He noticed the fact that she was wearing murky brown eye-shadow - the only reason he noticed was because he liked her eyes and the brown makeup brought out the green more. Her orbs didn't have their usual spark in them and he realized something else must've happened after he'd left that morning. Maybe she and Bonnie had had a fight or something. It seemed like all of her friends were turning against her and it wasn't even anything she'd done. It was just because she wasn't acting the way they wanted her to, all prim and proper like.
"What happened?" he asked, prompting her to speak so she'd know he was in a listening mood. They did have at least thirty minutes to spare. "Is Bonnie mad at you, too?"
Rebecca shook her head a little. "No, she's, uh . . . She's good. A little suspicious of you, but other than that she's fine. But she said that we have a bond that no one can get between. It's like we were together in another life - me and you, not me and her."
Her lips quirked up and she moved to the middle of the front seat to get closer to him.
"Um . . . She's, uh . . . I plan on telling her about vampires and me. I won't mention you or Stefan by name, but I think she kind of suspects already. She said she got a cold death-like feeling from both of you guys."
Rebecca watched for any sign of outward aggression; she hoped she wasn't putting Bonnie in danger by telling Damon what her plan was.
"She won't tell anybody because if she did, she'd have to tell about me and herself, so . . ."
"Hm."
"And as for what happened . . ." She bit her lip and smirked, knowing she was going to get a reaction from him now. "I'm gonna have a baby."
She held onto the seat as Damon slammed on the brakes - good thing there was no traffic. She burst out laughing at the reaction and he glared at her, not murderously - thank God.
"Run that one by me again," Damon said, or more like demanded.
"Relax, I was joking. But I am having a baby - or I'm going to have another baby in my house." Rebecca sighed. "Tina's having the baby, but I think she's going to be living with us."
"You don't want her to have the baby?"
Damon had to ask because sometimes he didn't understand why she reacted a certain way and he wanted to know her, get her, without having to ask.
"No, the baby's fine . . . I don't have anything to do with that decision."
Rebecca put her head against his arm and closed her eyes. Damon watched as she gradually grew more relaxed and he started driving again.
"Sometimes I think you say things like that just to see what I'll do," Damon muttered, wrapping an arm around her shoulders.
"That's the first time I've said something just to get a reaction from you. Promise. Everything else was just me being me."
"Yeah." Damon smirked because his little Slayer was quite the quirky human. "I was wondering how the pregnancy thing was going to work out seeing as to how you're still rockin' the V-card."
He didn't look, but he imagined she was blushing, and the fact that she turned her head to hide against his shoulder just reinforced that thought.
"Shh!" she hissed. "How'd you know that, anyway?"
"Aside from the way you act about sex in general? Your blood, it tastes different when you're a virgin," Damon explained.
"Oh."
Rebecca became silent. She wasn't comfortable with sex talk . . . Blood and guts were fine, sex . . . Not so much.
"So how come you haven't been with anyone?" Damon asked, and Rebecca could tell he knew she wasn't exactly in her element with this conversation. He was enjoying making her uncomfortable; payback for her earlier baby comment, maybe?
"I don't know. I've had two boyfriends before you, but I guess . . . I just hadn't found anyone worth giving it to."
"Hadn't?"
Rebecca's cheeks were warm again, but she looked up at him anyway. Damon's eyes were fixated on the road.
"Don't let it go to your head."
Damon didn't answer; he just smirked and squeezed her against him briefly.
He didn't care that he was showing this side of himself now. Number one, Rebecca wouldn't tell. Number two, he and Rebecca were alone, so even if she did tell, no one could prove anything. Number three, he was slowly learning that his feelings were safe with Rebecca.
It still terrified him somewhat because he hadn't allowed himself to be open or to become too attached to anyone since the day Rebecca had disappeared in 1864, and to allow himself to do so now was to allow himself to be open to hurt and vulnerability. It was also making him realize that, to have her, he needed to trust her.
Rebecca didn't know it, but Damon was handing her the ability to shatter his entire existence, but he was also trusting her not to.
Okay, so obvioiusly the dates in the next chapter which I will not be putting up today, but . . . what did you guys think?