Chapter Twelve – A Daydream Away
Happy New Year all! Apologies for not updating sooner, I've got three Science exams in the next week and a bit (the first being tomorrow), so I've found it difficult to find time to write anything. Addressing an issue raised in a review: Just because Damon and Rhia kissed, it doesn't mean that they are back together. I'm planning to drag out the 'friends with benefits' route for a looooonnnngggg time with those two :D
Also about reviews...or specifically reviewers. This chapter goes out to Snowberryxoxo, SlytherinFish, Marina164509 and Aly Goode, who review nearly every chapter without fail. It's very much appreciated, so thank you very much! I try to reply to every signed review I get, so please leave me your thoughts – it doesn't take long!
Don't forget about the poll on my profile page regarding a future Damon/OC story – vote on your favourite summary!
Sorry for the long AN, there were some things I just wanted to put cos it's 2012 and I could.
Saskia xxx
(PS. Have you seen SHERLOCK? *fangirls* IT'S AMAZING! Benedict Cumberbatch may not be fit, but he's sure as hell sexy. Yes, I am SherLOCKED).
A cruel smile played about their lips. They were familiar...why did I...oh. My heart dropped like a stone. "Katherine." Damon snarled.
"Hello Damon. Good to see you." Katherine smiled as she walked into the light. My fingers pinched into the back of Damon's leather jacket as I realised just how...identical...she was to Elena. "And this must be Rhiannon. We've not met. I'm the person who turned the Salvatore's back in 1864. But of course, you already know that." Her smile widened. Damon cursed softly.
"What do you want?" He asked impatiently.
"Come on now, Damon, I told you I'd be checking up on you at some point. Granted, it took longer than I'd originally planned but...plans change." Katherine trailed her fingers across the railings we were standing by. "I'd like to talk to Rhiannon, if you don't mind. Girl to girl." Damon wrapped a protective arm around me.
"Not a chance." He snarled.
"Don't be silly, Damon. I won't hurt her. You have my word." Katherine pouted.
"Since when has your word ever been something that could be trusted?"
"True." The 500-year-old vampire giggled. "I suppose you'll just have to take that chance. Rhiannon, you've been very quiet. What do you say? Will you come and have a chat with me? I like to know who my boys are befriending...I've already stopped by to see Elena." I inhaled sharply through my nose.
"Why do you want to talk to me?" I asked, my voice shaking slightly.
"There are no double meanings here. I just want to talk. Is that so hard to believe? Besides, where would the fun be in attacking you at the first chance I got?" I studied her disconcertingly familiar face. I lived around vampires. There were always going to be risks involved with that. I gently pulled away from Damon arm.
"Damon, go wait by your car. I'll be five minutes with her, and then you can see me safely home, okay?" I studied his icy blue eyes that seemed more frozen than ever.
"Five minutes. Any longer and I'll come and get you myself." He conceded. I kissed him lightly on the cheek and ducked under the railing, walking cautiously to Katherine's side. She linked her arm through mine and pulled me away from the Grill. I saw a blur that could have been a body rushing to the trees.
"Can I just say, I do like your dress. It's very...me." Katherine commented, and I blinked in surprise. A 500-year old vamp who had always been portrayed to me as someone very dangerous...and she was complementing me on my fashion? This was surreal. I stopped walking and she turned to look at me.
"What do you want, Katherine?" I repeating Damon's question, and she sighed.
"Always with the questions. Always the suspicion." I waited in silence. "I want to know why exactly Damon would go for someone like you, and I want to cause as much trouble as I can in such a small town. That clear enough for you?" She tilted her head, her lips settling in what was quickly becoming (in my eyes at least) her trademark pout.
"Damon and I aren't together at the minute. Not anymore." I said quietly, knowing she would hear.
"Please. I saw you kissing and snuggling." She sneered. "Even if you say you aren't together, the signs are all there. Don't deny it. I've been round for 500 years." I objected quickly.
"I went out of town just over a year ago. We didn't talk for 12 months – I completely cut off all contact. It's safe to say that we're not together anymore. He kissed me because...well, I don't really know why." I pressed my lips together, considering before continuing. "It's Christmas Day. It's what happens. What sort of trouble are you looking to cause?"
"Oh, you know. The usual. A few compulsions, a few mysterious animal attacks, ripping relationships apart with my teeth...my favourite games." She smirked at me and I involuntarily shivered. She laughed. "You know, if things were different, I think we two would get along. You have the Petrova fire...we are distantly related, after all. I think we would be friends. You're smart, sassy...and not afraid to be controversial and hurt other peoples' feelings. Exactly the sort of person I like." She flicked her heavily curled hair over her shoulder. "But of course, you would never be friends with someone dangerous like me...Damon for one wouldn't let you, and the stories they told you...it's all anti-Katherine with the Salvatore brothers. But let me get one thing straight. I loved them, and they loved me. The Salvatores are toxic...even I fell for their charms. Don't let them prejudice you. I really would like to be friends." She smiled brightly. "I wonder what sort of vampire you'd make..." She mused.
"I'm not becoming a vampire." I said quickly. I sounded certain, but in fact I'd never really thought of it much before that point. There was that time years ago when Damon offered, but I had turned him down.
"You say that now, but things change, Rhiannon." Katherine sighed. "You'd better be leaving. Damon will be getting worried...he's more like his brother than he realises." I smiled, agreeing completely. "Maybe I'll stop by and see you during the week. But I want you to tell the Salvatores something from me."
"What would that be?" I looked back at her.
"Remind them that if they interfere with my games, people they care about will get hurt. And I'll start with Elena, and then I'll move on to you." She narrowed her eyes and I stumbled a step backwards. "Game on." She disappeared, running off too quickly for my human senses to track her. I found myself speeding to Damon's car, wanting to be in his protection as quick as possible. He was leaning against the bonnet, his eyes focussed on me as I crossed the car park. He met me halfway.
"Are you okay?" He asked.
"I'm fine. She kept her word, she didn't hurt me." My words tumbled over each other as I rushed to get them out. He opened the passenger door for me and I slid in, unconsciously recalling all the sweet greeting and parting kisses we'd shared over the gear shift.
"But what did she want?" He was already sat in the driver's seat and turning the ignition, pulling out smoothly.
"She wanted to be friends." A bubble of hysterical laughter slipped past my trembling lips and he looked sharply at me. "She said I was the kind of person she liked and she wished we could get along." I shook my head slightly at the bizarreness of it all.
"That's bull, she was toying with you. What else did she say?" Damon's eyes returned to the road, but I saw his hands clench on the steering wheel.
"She said that she was going to have what fun she could in such a small town, and that you weren't to interfere with her games, or she'd hurt the people you care about, starting with Elena and me." I stared studiously at my fingernails as I said this, but looked up sharply as the car screeched to a halt. Damon punched the wheel, his eyes flashing. "Hey, hey! Calm down!" I reached to cover his hand in mine, but he pulled away violently. I sat back in my seat, waiting.
"Why can she not leave us alone?" Damon muttered furiously as he took the brake off and started driving again. I decided to change the subject to one (slightly) less sensitive.
"So...you kissed me." I said lightly.
"I did."
"Why?"
"Personal agenda."
"Enlighten me."
"Because there was mistletoe, and it's Christmas, and I was drunk and you looked lonely and depressed, and I've never been able to resist you."
"Never?"
"Never." I stared out of the window, trying to understand what he was saying. Did he mean that he couldn't resist me when I was said, or that he couldn't resist...me?
"What now?" I asked quietly.
"Nothing. We carry on as we have been. Our relationship always seemed to send one of us over the edge." He flashed me a glimpse of his brilliant smile and I couldn't help but smile back, even though I wished it could be more. He pulled up outside the house and killed the engine.
"For the record..." I took a deep breath. "I've never really been able to resist you either." I looked up at his face, illuminated by the porch light. His expression was unreadable. "Goodnight, Damon." I could see nothing but the profile of his face, his lips set in a tight line. I sighed, and leant over to kiss him on the cheek. At the last second, he turned his face and our lips met. I melted into the kiss, bringing my hands up to rest on his chest, feeling his hands move to cup my face. We pulled apart, and I slowly opened my eyes. His thumbs caressed my cheeks, and I bit my lip, anticipating a negative reaction.
"Rhiannon, don't look so scared. I've never been able to resist you. And I'll never complain about kissing you." My heart leaped. "But you and I both know that neither of us are ready to...you know. We're friends. With benefits." He smirked. I nodded and pulled away silently, grabbing my bag and climbing out the car. He drove away, leaving me standing in front of the house, not knowing where we stood. In my head, I knew. But my heart? Wasn't so sure.
And I'll keep you a daydream away, just watch from a safe place so I never have to lose.
Song credits: 'A Daydream Away' by All Time Low, from the album 'Dirty Work'.