I must say I'm pleased that a lot of you are happy that Caroline has returned. When I first started this story, back before season 2, I hadn't planned her to be in it at all. I didn't think much of Caroline before season 2; sure I liked her, but not particularly. I also didn't mind her with Matt. But she's grown so much in season 2 – she's more confident and strong. I love how they've made her a stronger character, and I thought that she and Tyler would be great additions to the story.
On a personal note – Baby Doll Rica: I completely understand. When you lose people you almost manage it after a while, y'know, when you have work and school etc. But during holidays it's a lot harder. Christmas is my favourite time of year, and when my grandfather died it didn't feel right. It was so hard to act normal, and you knew even before Xmas day that this year it wasn't going to be one of the best Christmases – I mean, how could it be? I really tried to put that feeling in the Xmas chapter.
I hope you enjoy this chapter!
DISCLAIMER: I do NOT own Vampire Diaries or One Tree Hill or any of the characters; I only own Tari, Liam, Allen, Mr Herman, Mrs Kennedy and Rebecca
Chapter Sixteen
War and Peace
"I'm just saying it would be nice for some company," said Liam.
"It's freezing outside," Tari argued.
"That's how you'll get warm."
"What are you two talking about?" asked Sawyer. Allen and Sawyer had been waiting for the two of them to meet by the lockers before history.
"See I told you," said Allen, sending Sawyer a look. "Liam argues with everyone."
"I would have thought you would have been sick of arguing, what with you and Jamie fighting all holiday," Sawyer commented, shoving books into her locker. She gave a groan when another almost fell out. "I swear, there's not enough room in these things."
"Maybe I'm just the type of person that argues all the time." He rolled his eyes. "I'm just saying it would be fun."
"What are you talking about?"
"Lee wants me to go running with him on the weekend mornings," Tari asked, putting some books in her locker.
"Well it's not as if I'd ask you to get up earlier on the weekdays." Liam leant against the locker, facing her. "C'mon Tari, your gym teacher said that you were a natural."
Tari turned to Sawyer. "Oh this is your fault?"
The blonde shrugged. "Well it's true." It was the dreaded Running Week as the students called it, where in P.E. they had to do sprints and long distance runs. Most girls (and half the boys) hated running, groaning with painful stitches and breathless. Tari though, had actually enjoyed the running. She had reached the finish line of the longest run with only minimal pain – Sawyer, on the other hand, had nearly fainted and felt that her heart was going to come out of her chest. Their teacher had been amazed at her endurance and suggested she practiced more often. Tari had dismissed the thought almost instantly – but apparently Liam had other ideas.
"Maybe I like to sleep in on the weekends," suggested Tari.
"I get up at nine. Besides, isn't it better to get up early then sleep the weekend away?"
Okay, Tari had to admit that it was better to be up early on a weekend to get more out of it. Sometimes she even slept for the entire morning. But he was right; it would be better to actually have a weekend.
And that was how she got up at seven fifty ("Could we meet at eight this time?"; it was quite clear that Liam had lied about getting up at nine) to meet him. She put very little make up on – after all, it was only Liam and they were running. She wasn't going to be able to keep attractive.
She went down the stairs two at a time, realising she was going to be late – and of course ran smack into Damon.
"Can't you give me some kind of warning before you appear in front of me?" Tari asked, straightening herself.
" That wouldn't be as much fun." He sent her a smirk before continuing. "And what are you doing up this early?"
"I told you Damon. I'm going running with Liam."
Damon leant against the wall, blocking the door. Tari sighed and stood there, waiting for him to get to the point. "I haven't met this Liam kid. Shouldn't I be able to meet this kid first before I allow you to go running with him?"
"Shouldn't you meet all the teachers at my school before you send me to it?" Tari asked, thinking of Mr Herman. How true that was.
"But we've gone over the boyfriend rule, right?"
Tari felt a smirk creep over her face. This could be very amusing. "No, we haven't."
"As in none. Ever." His eyes were serious, and Tari realised that he meant it. She knew that he wouldn't take her having a boyfriend well, but jeez – she was a little worried about what would happen to the boy she decided to date. Yeah, he was going to be a lucky guy.
"Don't you think that's a little excessive?"
"Fine, we'll review it when you're eighteen."
"Sixteen. And fine, agreed, whatever I need to say to get you to let me go." When she saw a grin growing on his face, she realised. "You've made me even more late, y'know realise that?"
"Maybe you should just skip it-"
"Piss off," Tari said, pushing him out of the way. She could hear him laughing as she slammed the door behind her.
She walked through a cut, which led her to a country road. Liam said that it was best running on the road because the weather was so awful you could easily slip and hurt yourself; the roads were safer, especially at this time in the morning and especially the back road.
He was waiting for her against a tree, playing with his phone. "Texting your latest girl?" Tari asked, standing beside him.
"Had to do something," said Liam with a crooked smile towards her. "You're late."
"I got caught by Damon." At Liam's questioning gaze she continued. "He gave me the boyfriend talk."
Liam laughed as he stretched out his legs. "Oh I wish I could have heard that."
"It wasn't that bad actually. Basically I'm not allowed to have one."
"Straight to the point."
"We're reviewing it when I'm sixteen." She finished stretching out her left arm. "So where we heading?"
"Straight down the road until we hit the bridge."
"What bridge?"
"Jesus you've lived here for nearly six months now and you still don't know the area? This was the girl who knows New York like the back of her hand?"
"Brooklyn like the back of my hand. I kinda know Manhattan."
Liam shook his head. "Fine, just follow me – and try to keep up."
She had to admit, running as far as Liam did was gruelling. At first it was easy, but this was further than she had run before. As time went on she felt her breath leave her body and it became harder to continue lifting her feet up.
"I thought you were better than this," Liam said beside her. He didn't sound to be struggling at all.
"Can we take a break?" Tari gasped out.
"No. You need to get through this. Every runner hits this part where they get to the wall. If you have any stamina at all then you can break through the wall. If you stop running now then you won't become a good runner. Keep going." Liam made it look effortless as he ran. He didn't even sound too out of breath.
It almost killed Tari to continue. She focussed on a point at the bottom of the road, telling herself that once she got to that spot than she would be able to stop and take a break.
But then Liam was right: suddenly she felt her body begin to loosen up, like they were weightless. It was easy to run now, more free – like this was what she was made to do. The sick feeling left her stomach and chest didn't hurt as badly as before. She supposed this was the endorphins kicking in. But it was the feeling that she had that made the difference; it almost felt as if she could fly, if that made any sense at all. She glanced out the corner of her eye and could tell that Liam was feeling it to. He caught her eye and grinned. "Race ya!" he called. He began to speed ahead, but the second he said that Tari threw her head back and began to pump her arms harder.
Somehow they had reached the bridge – Tari hadn't even seen it, so caught up she was in running. Both reached it almost at the same time, their hands hitting the stone to stop themselves. Breath rushed out their bodies and they were both coughing, but there were smiles on their faces and they were laughing. Tari sank down to the floor and Liam sat beside her. "God," she breathed.
"You feel better though."
"Yeah, I guess." She leant her head back against the stone. "You do this every weekend?"
He shrugged. "Got to keep in shape. I am on the football team. Besides, you never know when you're going to need to run."
"Good point," Tari said, thinking of Caleb. But even she knew that you could train every day for fifty years and you still wouldn't be able to outrun a vampire. She had seen Damon speed back and forth enough times.
"You'll be sore tomorrow," he warned.
"Thanks for telling me this now."
"Oh please," said Liam, rolling his eyes. "Even if I had told you, you would have done the exact same thing."
They didn't speak for a few minutes, catching their breath. "So can I ask you something?"
"Even if I told you not to, you would anyway."
"Why don't you call Damon 'dad'?"
Tari was surprised at the question. She stared forward, looking at the other side of the bridge. Carved in stone was the year 1901. The bridge had been built over a hundred years ago, and was still standing. Didn't anyone else find that a little bit amazing? But then she was from New York where if something was out of fashion it was removed and replaced with something else – of course it was strange to her. "Where did that come from?"
"I was just wondering."
"Why do you hate your brother?"
"I don't hate my brother," Liam said, outraged.
"Maybe not hate. But you definitely have issues."
"You first."
Tari sighed loudly. "I don't know. I never called him dad, not since I was...five maybe, six. Maybe it was because he wasn't like other dads – like all my friends had dad's that occasionally picked them up at school, or watched them during their debut in the school play. Stupid I know, and it's not like I was only kid that didn't have a dad – but it still...annoyed me-"
"Still hurt," he interjected.
Tari sent him a glare but continued. "-that he wasn't there. And as I got older, he didn't visit as much. Yeah we talked on the phone and emailed, but it wasn't the same, y'know?"
He shook his head. "Not really. I can understand it, but I've always had the perfect family. The middle child. The Mom and Dad and big brother and little sister. And most of the time, it is."
Tari studied his face carefully. "But not all the time."
Liam didn't look at her when he spoke, just like Tari hadn't looked at him. "Sometimes I feel like the outcast of my family. Like my big brother is way into sports just like my dad. I know I am too, but it's different. Jamie plays basketball just like he did, and they always talk about it over dinner. And Lydia is already a musical prodigy, just like my mom. And I just slip in the middle.
"It's not that I hate Jamie; I'm jealous of him. He was the oldest, and before I was born my parents went through so much; by the time he was like, seven, they talked to him like a grown up. Sometimes I think he's their favourite."
Tari was already shaking her head. "You know that's not true Lee."
"Yeah, I know. But in my darkest hour, it haunts me."
She had to admit, she couldn't understand it; she was an only child, and even if Damon didn't pay any attention to her she still knew that she was the only one he adored, the one he always made sure was okay. There was no one who she had to compete with. Tari had never particularly wanted any brothers and sisters (her parents weren't together and she couldn't see them ending up together, so she never thought about it) but now she was exceedingly relieved that they hadn't had any other kids. She was showered with attention and affection from both of them. She had never felt any need to be jealous; never had anyone to be jealous of.
He stood up suddenly. "Ready for round two?" he asked, his voice ultra-cheerful. Too happy.
Tari stood up, narrowing her eyes at him. "I'll leave you in the dust."
"Keep dreaming Salvatore."
"Whatever keeps you happy Scott."
xXx
She was going to kill him.
This must have been her vampire side coming out, but Tari now envisioned how she would do it: finding a way to drop pill after pill into his cup of coffee; hitting him over the head with his computer keyboard or better yet, War and Peace (a book that heavy could kill someone, or at least put them in a coma); staple his hand. The last one probably wouldn't kill him, but it would definitely hurt him, and that would be good enough.
She had tried to avoid Mr Herman. English was becoming her hardest lesson; hard because she squirmed under his gaze, but she was doing well in it because she tried not to look up at him at all, focussing on the book or a sheet of paper.
But now she couldn't help but look up to glare at him. He wasn't looking at her at the time; instead he was talking about the results. "A mixed bag really. Some of you didn't really try at all; others on the other hand made me proud." Did anyone notice how he looked at Sawyer when he said this? "But I was really disappointed with some of you." He made eye contact with Tari when he said this.
Don't pull that act with me you stick-up-the-ass prick. You can't keep your hands off your students, and clearly behave childish. Tari wished she had something to throw at him, something that would burn him. Another way to kill him, only she would have to find a way to get him to the science labs.
He continued talking but Tari really couldn't concentrate. Her mind wandered to other methods of killing him. Her personal favourite was allowing Damon to do it. While she didn't like the idea of running to daddy to get the bad man hurt, she knew that Damon would do exactly as she asked i.e. make it extremely painful. That did tempt her, it did. If only Sawyer wasn't dating him. Argh, why must my life be so complicated?
The bell rang and Tari left as fast as she could. She didn't even consider talking to him about her grade; right now he had all the power. She had to think of a way to cut him off. It was like chess. Surely she had learnt something playing with him?
"Sorry I can't talk," Sawyer said, power-walking down the hall. Tari had to rush to keep up. "I-"
"Have the evil chemistry teacher, yeah I know." It took a lot of effort to smile, to act natural. She was only thankful that Sawyer had to rush off.
She took her time in the bathroom, attempting to compose herself. She had study period next, and she could take her time. Her Monday was always a bitch: not only did she have double maths in the morning, she also had physics. English had usually been her brief break, but lately it had become the worst part of them all. Tari was seriously considering skipping it – if it weren't for the fact that the school would call Damon, who would then probably walk her to every class to make sure she went. Though Tari wasn't exactly at the top of the social ladder, she wasn't willing to commit social suicide. The only thing that got her through it was study hall with Allen. Their teacher was practically asleep for that lesson, so they could do whatever they wanted. It was nice to have some time to relax for her stressful day.
He was waiting in his usual seat, and smiled at her when she sat down. "Hey," he said. "You're cutting it fine. If Mr Alder was awake then you surely would have gotten detention. As it is..." Both of them glanced over to the plump man who was snoring. No one though, had ever told on him; despite it everyone liked him and panicked that if they told someone then he would be fired and have a teacher that would make them work.
"Yeah well, I got some bad news," Tari grumbled.
Allen raised an eyebrow. "What's up?" he asked quietly.
Tari pushed her exam paper in front of him. He glanced down at it, frowning. "You got a D?"
"I got a D," she repeated glumly. "This from the girl whose being taking out tonight for celebrating her good grades. I even managed to get a B- in maths and a C in chemistry, but in English I get a D."
"That's not like you," said Allen. He flipped through the exam paper. The writing didn't look rushed; it looked remarkably calm and collected, like she knew the answer. He read it over. "This doesn't look like a D."
No, Tari didn't think it was a D either. She bit her lip, deliberating. She wanted to tell him something, wanted to talk to him about why she felt victimized by Mr Herman. But how could she do that without telling him Sawyer's secret? And if she did decide to tell him, then who's to say he wouldn't tell Liam? And Tari knew Liam well enough to know he would be furious if he found out.
"Okay," she said gamely. "I can't tell you the full story, but let's just say that Mr Herman is victimizing me-"
"What?" Allen stared at her unblinking. "Why would he victimize you?"
"I can't tell you that."
"Tari," Allen said, leaning forward. His eyes were round, focussed on her. "Did he...do something to you? I mean, did he try something?"
"No. Really Allen, there's nothing going on – nothing like that. But let's just say he doesn't like me and he's picking on me. What would I do? How would I know if this work was a D or not?"
She could tell Allen was worried. He stared at the book down at him, tapping his fingers on the desk. She waited, waited for him to come up with a magical answer. This was Allen; he was a warlock after all.
"There's no reason why he's doing this?" Allen tried again to get her to tell him what the problem was, but naturally Tari kept her mouth shut.
After silence he sighed. "Mr Herman isn't in charge. The Head of English could override him."
"Who's the Head of English?"
xXx
That was how Tari ended up outside Mrs Kennedy's door. She stared at it, desperately trying to force her feet to move, but she couldn't. This was stupid; why the hell should she be nervous about this? She knew that Mrs Kennedy was one of the strictest teachers in the school. She didn't even know who Tari was. And now she was supposed to ask her for help? She wouldn't be pleased that Tari was going behind a teacher's back.
But Tari wasn't going to let Mr Herman win. Remembering how angry he made her resolved her. She gave three quick knocks on the door and entered.
Mrs Kennedy was sitting at her desk, writing something – maybe marking papers, Tari wasn't sure. She glanced up. "Is there something I can help you with?"
"Um, yeah." Any words that Tari had prepared suddenly abandoned her at this crucial moment. She cleared her throat and handed the exam paper to her. "I was wondering if you could look over this exam paper for me."
She took it from Tari and glanced over it. She then looked back at Tari, who was beginning to feel uncomfortable. "Your teacher has already marked this."
"Yes," Tari answered.
"Mr Herman?"
"Yes," she repeated.
"I don't understand the problem," Mrs Kennedy said.
I wish I could tell you. Instead Tari looked at her straight in the eye. "I would just like you to have a look at it, if you don't mind."
Mrs Kennedy looked back at the paper. "Nefertari Salvatore."
"Yes," Tari said again. "But please, call me Tari."
If Mrs Kennedy had heard her she didn't give any indication of it. "Very well Nefertari, if you insist I will look over it and give my opinion." Tari took that as her dismissal and mumbled a 'thank you' before leaving.
"Well?" Allen asked once Tari arrived at the lockers.
Tari let out a sigh, leaning against them. "That was harder than I thought. I felt as if I was being skinned alive. She didn't give me any encouragement at all."
"She can be like that," Allen said, grinning. "Trust me, if you're a lazy and have her she'll tear you apart."
"Knowing my luck she'll give me an even worst mark." She sighed, sliding down to the floor. "Great. So much for my good grades."
Allen laughed. "Don't you think you're being a little dramatic?" He sat down beside her. "Don't you think Sawyer could help you out? She has him too."
She sat up straight. "Allen, you can't tell Sawyer or Liam about this, I mean it. They can't know about this."
Allen frowned. "Why can't they know?"
"Look it's stupid, but I don't want them to know. Please Al."
He didn't look happy. "I don't like this Tari," he said lowly. "You're not telling me the entire story, and you're not telling Sawyer or Lee anything. Are you sure this guy's not harassing you? 'Cause I know that you don't tell him everything, but your dad would be able to get rid of him."
Don't tempt me. "He's not harassing me – at least not in that way." She reached over and squeezed his hand. She saw his expression soften, just a little bit, and felt him relax. "I'm fine, really. I can take care of myself."
"I know you Tari," Allen said gently. "I know you like to take care of things yourself, but please, if this guy is being an ass just let us help, okay?"
"I will," Tari promised. "Thank you though, for letting me talk to you about this. It feels good to get a bit of help." She smiled, and – though it was a little tight – he returned it.
It was then she realised that she had been holding his hand the entire time.
xXx
"Can we get a Manhattan, a cosmopolitan, two beers, a bottle of red wine and a coke please?"
Once the waitress had left Tari rolled her eyes. "That's so uncool – you lot can drink alcohol and I'm stuck with a coke."
"It's not my rules, it's the law," Damon said, leaning back in the chair.
"You could compel them to serve me alcohol."
"I'll tell you what: if Caroline doesn't arrive here soon than you can have hers."
Elena glanced round the crowded restaurant as if Caroline would appear out of nowhere – which, in fairness, she could. "Where is Caroline anyway?"
"I don't know," Stefan replied. "She sounded weird on the phone, and I haven't seen her for the past couple of days."
"Isn't Tyler coming?" asked Ric.
"We invited him but Caroline said he couldn't make it."
Damon frowned, twiddling his thumbs. "Something's up," he said after a moment.
"You don't think they're breaking up, do you?" Tari thought of the last day of the semester, walking in on Tyler and Caroline kissing. They had seemed lost in their own world; they must have been, because they both had supersensitive hearing and neither of them had heard her enter. They hadn't seemed one of those running-towards-each-other-in-a-field kind of couple like Stefan and Elena (and sometimes they really did seem too mushy for words) and though they fought, they seemed content with each other. It was more than that though; they knew each other, had known each other since they were little. There was something so comforting about that – like if you lost yourself, they would be able to find you. She felt a little sad at that moment; no one knew her like that, at least not since she was little. Her friends back in New York had stopped calling and emailing, and even then she hadn't stuck with the same friends that she had been with when she was four or five. Still, Liam and Allen and Sawyer knew her, just like she knew them, and that was reassuring.
"No," Stefan said, sending her a confident look.
Elena, however, looked uncertain. "You know them," she said. "I'll admit they've had a good run – I mean, they've lasted five years without breaking up and that's decent-"
"More than we had," Stefan pointed out.
"But sometimes all it takes it one argument," she reminded him. "You know what Ty and Caroline are like. Never mind one argument, all it takes is a word – remember the spaghetti incident?"
Everyone at the table except for Tari groaned. "What's the spaghetti incident?" Tari asked.
"No way," Ric said. "I am not listening to this again."
"It's dangerous just talking about it," Damon said. "If Caroline hears she'll start up again, and I don't want to listen to this again for the next twelve hours."
The perfect opportunity arrived when the waitress arrived with the drinks. Once they were passed out, the waitress asked if they were ready to order their food. The five of them looked down at their menus, unopened in front of them, and asked for some more time – besides which their last member hadn't arrived yet.
"Let's make sure we know what we want when Caroline comes," Damon said.
"Hey, I have your Christmas present," Ric said to Tari. The girl perked up. Ric had said that he hadn't gotten her present ready for Christmas, and that was enough to intensify her curiosity. "I can't give it to you here though."
"Why not?" asked Damon, his eyes narrowing at his friend.
"'Cause I got her a crossbow and I think that the people who owned the restaurant wouldn't like me to bring it here."
Tari broke into a grin. "Really? You got me a crossbow? That's so cool! Will you teach me how to use it?"
Damon on the other hand was incensed. "A crossbow?You got my fourteen year old daughter a crossbow?She'll kill herself!"
"Not if I teach her how to use it," Ric argued.
"He's right – that way I can defend myself. You gave me the stakes and vervain darts, remember?"
"You can't control a crossbow-"
"If I teach her she can," answered Ric.
Damon put his hand to his head, closing his eyes. "I couldn't have normal friends and a normal life. I have to have a friend that gives my daughter a crossbow – who is, naturally, delighted at this." He raised his head, trying another argument. "You can't carry a crossbow in your bag."
"It's not a big one," Alaric said, shrugging his shoulders. "It's possible."
"Do you want to get home tonight?" snarled Damon. "It doesn't matter anyway," he said, turning back to Tari. "I won't allow it."
Alaric raised his eyebrows at Tari. "Hey, I think you should have extra history lessons. Friday after school?"
"If that's what you think," Tari replied innocently, though both shared a grin that had nothing innocent about it.
Damon groaned. "Fine, fine, whatever, but I'm there when you practice and for God's sake don't take it to school. I don't need the hassle of compelling the headmistress at the school."
Ric winked at Tari and the girl laughed. "I swear you enjoy making my life complicated," Damon muttered.
"It does make my life more fun," Tari agreed. They were distracted by saying anything more because Caroline suddenly arrived in a red dress with matching heels, looking suitably flustered. "Sorry I'm late," she said, collapsing in the seat.
Elena knew her friend; she knew that something was wrong. "What's going on?" she asked, sitting up. Even Tari could tell that Caroline was upset.
Caroline shook her head quickly, pressing her lips together. But she had the entire table's attention, all of whom were waiting patiently for her to speak. They knew they wouldn't have to wait long – after all Caroline wasn't known for keeping silent.
She took a deep breath. "I think Tyler might be breaking up with me."
Silence.
"That's it?" Damon shook his head. "Jesus Caroline you looked as if someone had died." He would have continued if Tari hadn't shoved him with her elbow, which admittedly didn't hurt but did the trick of shutting him up.
"It's a big deal Damon!" Caroline snapped. She took a sip of her Manhattan. "I thought everything was going okay," she said waving her head on the air. "Tyler and I have been getting along great. I mean, I know I wasn't excited about staying in Mystic Falls at first but it's all good: the apartment is much bigger than I thought and his mother's being a pain but now that my mom's back in town she's keeping her under control, and my mom and I are getting along and... I don't know, everything's just going great! But now he's acting quiet, all moody and distant and – I don't know, I don't get it." She sank her head into her hands as if she was about to burst into tears.
Everyone was staring at her, still trying to catch up with the torrent of words that she just spewed. Elena put a comforting hand on her shoulder. "I'm sure it's nothing Caroline."
"Yeah, don't worry," Damon said. "Stefan acted like that for – well, all of his relationship with Elena and they're still together."
Stefan sent Damon a look before tossing the napkin at him; Damon caught it and threw it back, Tari ducking to avoid it. The waitress chose this unfortunate time to appear, getting hit with the napkin.
Damon of course held no shame despite the fact he was behaving like a little child; in fact he was a little proud since he got Caroline to let out a smothered chuckle. The waitress put her hand on her hip. "Are you ready to order your food yet?"
The vampire sent her a smooth smile. "Two minutes." The waitress rolled her eyes and walked away.
"If she knew what I was she would treat me with a bit more respect," Damon said, pouring himself another glass of red wine. "Though we really do need to decide what we want to eat."
"He didn't want to come out tonight – what if he's seeing someone else?" Caroline looked positively terrified at the thought.
"Caroline, you have no reason to worry about that," Stefan said.
"Yeah – I mean, you are a werewolf and a vampire that have known each other for years. Why would he want anyone else?"
"But he was so eager to move here," Caroline said, narrowing her eyes. "Don't you think that's suspicious?"
"You're delusion," Damon said, his eyes on the menu.
"You're lucky we're in a public place or I would tear your throat out," Caroline growled.
"Maybe we should change the subject," Elena said, trying her best to be bright despite the fact she was gripping Caroline's arm like a vice.
I got a D for my English exam. It was on the tip of her tongue, but she swallowed the words back. Damon had been so pleased with her results – he had actually hugged her so tight that he had cut off circulation and taken her out for this meal. How could she let him know that she had a bad grade, in a lesson that she should have passed easily? Maybe Mrs Kennedy would give her a higher mark, but somehow Tari doubted it.
"Well if I'm still with Tyler by then, I'd like to remind everyone the next full moon's in a week."
Damon sent Tari a look. "What?" the teenager said.
"I know you – somehow you'll end up being out while there's a full moon and I'll have to come out and rescue you."
"Not if Alaric teaches me how to use the crossbow," Tari said, gesturing to her history teacher.
"Wait, what?" Caroline looked between the three of them. "Since when does Tari have a crossbow?"
"Since now," Tari said proudly. "And why do you assume that I'll be out during a full moon? Even I'm not stupid enough to go out when there's the possibility of being attacked by a hungry werewolf." She glanced up, suddenly thoughtful. "Could it kill me? A werewolf bite, I mean?"
It plunged the table into silence. Damon tilted his head, looking thoughtful. If you knew him, however, then you would be able to the concern in his eyes. He could remember what happened with Rose – who he still considered one of his closest friends. It still hurt him a little, and he had to admit he wasn't even sorry that Jules had died. She had killed Rose out of malice (okay, she had tried to kill him, but that was still pretty cruel) and someone who did something like that deserved to die that way.
He couldn't lose someone the same way again. It was too painful to watch.
"I don't know," Damon admitted. "Maybe."
"A werewolf could probably kill a human," Ric pointed out. "I don't think anyone really stands a chance against one."
"God knows Tyler's nearly killed me once or twice," Caroline muttered. "You'd think after we'd been through all of that he would cheat on me-"
"You don't even know if he's cheating on you! You've fabricated all this in your head!"
"You don't know Tyler the way I do."
"Can we not get back into this?" Stefan asked.
"So before I'm surprised with any other knowledge, are there any other supernatural beings? Angels, goblins, phantoms? Before I'm thrown off guard by any other information." Tari thought it would be a good question to ask; after all, she had only thought there were vampires, and then before she knew it there were werewolves and witches and hunters. She didn't want to find out there was something else and kick herself for not asking.
"No." Damon was too quick for a pause. If she had thought about it, he answered a little too quickly. But she didn't have the beauty of hindsight yet. She didn't notice the heated stare between Damon and Elena, or how the table tensed slightly. "Not that we know of."
"So," the waitress said, appearing suddenly at the table. "Dare I ask?"
They all glanced at each other and then guiltily down at the menus in front of them, admittedly open but still barely glanced at. There was no need for words. The waitress shook her head and moved away. "I want to go home tonight y'know!"
xXx
"Okay, you really need to go to bed now," said Damon, appearing in her room with a glass of water. Tari was on the bed, head in a book. She was behind on her reading for English, but she honestly couldn't be bothered. They had moved on from the Bronte sisters to Charles Dickens, and while he was a good writer, she had no desire to read Nicholas Nickleby. What was the point? If Mr Herman was going to make her down then why should she waste her time and effort working?
Tari slammed the book shut and threw it on the floor. Damon glanced at the book and then back at Tari. "What did the book do?"
"It was boring," answered Tari, pulling the covers over her. She wished she could tell him about Mr Herman, but she honestly didn't know what he would do. Damon was impulsive at best – at worst he was downright terrifying. Besides, what about Sawyer? Didn't her friend deserve the truth since she was right in the middle of it?
Damon clicked his fingers in front of Tari's face, jerking her into the present. "Where were you?" he asked. Those silver eyes searched her light blue ones – there wasn't much of a difference between the colours of their eyes, but Damon's had a slightly silver touch to his, whereas Tari's eyes were more a cross between a sapphire and a diamond, which was how Damon liked to look at it.
"School," Tari replied quickly, and it was sort of true.
"You're stressed now?" he asked. "I thought you were meant to be stressed before Christmas, what with exams and everything." Tari simply gave a limp shrug as if that settled the matter.
Some days getting any word out of Tari was a battle. Even an hour made a difference. She could disappear into her head and Damon had to try and pull her back out when he wanted to talk to her. He felt something move underneath him, uncertainty – like she was keeping something from him again.
In response he leant beside her, resting his head against her pillow. Surprised, Tari placed her head next to him. He could feel her hair against his cheek, and smoothed it down. "Something's bothering you," he murmured.
Tari felt her insides contract slightly. Now would be the perfect time to tell Damon. But she was Sawyer's friend, and she had promised not to tell anyone about her and Herman. She did have a certain fear that Damon would attack him, and while that would be extremely amusing she didn't want to make things uncomfortable for Sawyer. Herman was obviously childish, and Tari had to wonder how far he would go if he felt that it was Sawyer's fault.
"Sweetie, I know that I'm a vampire and you're human, but that does kinda hurt." Tari glanced down and realised she had been gripping his fingers.
"I take it that you're a little angry," Damon said mildly, pulling his hands away from her. "Talk."
"No."
Damon growled. "Seriously. You're not going to tell me again?"
The girl sighed, sitting up on her elbows. "Okay," she said. "If I tell you, you have to promise that you won't do anything."
He rolled over, pinning her to the bed. "That depends," he said, his eyes narrowing. "Is this going to make me angry?"
"Maybe," she said cautiously. "Not very angry, just a little..."
He was beginning to look even more irritated. "Tari, tell me what's going on." This was a command.
She sighed again. "Let's just say that, for some reason, a teacher is victimizing me."
"What did you do?"
Tari widened her eyes, lifting herself off the bed. "Why do you assume it's something I've done?" she exclaimed. "I'm an innocent victim here!"
Damon rolled his eyes, looking up at the ceiling as if he was asking God for help. "Alright, I'm sorry."
"Well, I guess it was a little my fault," Tari admitted. Damon sighed, focussing on her. "I made him look like a fool." That was, after all, a little true. "So now he gave me a bad grade-"
"It's a he?" Damon gritted his teeth. He was really trying hard to stop his fangs from protruding – let's face it, it would only scare Tari and wouldn't achieve anything – but it was difficult. He desperately wanted to find this guy. If it was a female teacher he would be able to understand; he would perhaps be curious, wondering why she would give Tari a low mark, but he wouldn't be angry. A male teacher, however... They may have authority, but at the end of the day they were still men; horny men that got to ogle young teenage girls every day.
"Of course it's a he. Women never get this upset if their ego takes a hit."
"Absolutely," Damon said easily; he really didn't want to get into a conversation about which gender was better, especially not at this minute. "Which teacher is it?"
Tari's hands went to his chest, as if trying to push him away. "No way," she said.
"Why can't you tell me?"
"Because I'm not completely certain that you wouldn't threaten him."
"A little threat never hurt anyone."
"That's really not true."
"Just let me talk to him. Tell me what his name is and we'll have a friendly discussion."
"Damon."
"Tari."
"I can handle this on my own. I'm already getting a second opinion on my essay. For all we know this could be all in my head and my grade really is that bad."
"Do you have your paper with you?" Damon had no particular authority when it came to grading papers, but even so, he would have thought he would be able to determine if her essay was any good or not.
"No."
Damon bit his lip. "Just tell me his name."
"No. I can deal with this myself. He's not going to do anything to me." Tari did not for even a second consider informing him of the way Herman acted during the storm. There would be nothing to stop her father from strangling the man, and how could she put a positive spin on that for Sawyer? Sorry, my dad killed the guy that you love, but hey, hope we can still be friends! Yeah, right.
Damon was staring at her, his eyes scanning her face. "I'm not happy about this Tari." His daughter waited. "If he does anything that hurts you, or threatens you or anything that you don't like, call me – or if it's easier go to Alaric. You need to promise me that you will keep me in the loop."
"I promise," Tari said quickly.
He sighed, and Tari could tell he was uncomfortable with the thought of letting her go to school. While he was scrupulous with her education, if he was worried about her he would have no problem with making her stay at home. "Okay," he said again, relenting. "I won't do anything to him. But I mean it. If I have a feeling your hiding something from me, I will take care of it myself."
"I'm sure you will," Tari said.
Later when Damon had tucked her in and left her to get to sleep, she realised: she felt good about telling him the truth. Not the entire truth, but at least she wasn't hiding everything from him. It soothed her conscience. The whole Caleb situation had given her a lot of guilt until Damon had finally found out the truth; even when she was punished, it had been a certain level of relief for her. Now Damon knew.
For one moment pure fear hit her. Now Damon knew; her father who was known for going to extraordinary lengths to protect her.
This couldn't end well.
xXx
Many fathers would not have taken the news that their daughter was being victimized very well. Some would leave her to it, believing she would be able to sort out the problem on her own. Other fathers would go in and talk to the teacher – or threaten him. While Damon Salvatore would have fallen into the latter category, he had said to his daughter that he wouldn't go and talk to the guy.
That did, however, leave him with many other options.
"You're still using me as your spy?" Damon could hear the noise of students as Alaric walked down the hall. "I'm serious Damon, I want paying."
"This is serious Ric," growled Damon. "Tari may be in danger. And since she is insisting that she takes care of this herself, my hands are tied. Yours, however, aren't."
"But I thought you said Tari wasn't being harassed by this guy. At least not sexually."
"She said he gave her a bad grade – but the fact that it's a he worries me."
"Okay, I'm here." Damon could hear the sound of a file cabinet being opened. "Let's see, Richardson, Rylan, Sage – ah, here we go, Salvatore." There was a pause as he flicked through the papers. "Okay, she's gotten at least a C in everything except English. A...Mr Herman gave her a D for her essay."
Damon pursed his lips together. "Herman," he growled through gritted teeth. "Got it."
"You're not going to do anything, are you?"
"I'll bide my time," he replied. "Meanwhile, keep an eye on him for me would ya?"
"Damon!"
"I can't do it! C'mon Ric, you have to. What if Tari got hurt because no one was watching him?"
There was silence as his words weighed on Ric. "Alright," he said after a moment. "Fair point. Okay, I'll watch out for them. But I can't be watching both of them every second. I know you want to believe that me being here will protect her – and it does give her more protection, it does – but it's impossible, even for me to watch them 24/7."
"I know." He did know this; after all, he had learnt the hard way that he couldn't keep Tari under his eye for the entire time. "Just do your best okay? And I'm rethinking the idea about the crossbow. Maybe it's not such a bad idea she has some protection."
"See," Alaric said proudly. "Always two moves ahead."
"Of course. So, Mr Two-Moves-Ahead, if you stop by I'll give you some payment in the form of cupcakes."
"Cupcakes?"
"Or brownies; or cookies."
"What the hell are you talking about?"
Damon glanced through the kitchen and moved away, stepping through the double doors and outside to the garden. "Y'know how Caroline was talking about her fears over Tyler?"
"Please for the love of God tell me they didn't break up."
"No – not yet."
"Not yet?" The vampire could hear the fear in the human's voice – really, honest fear. "That's not good enough. I can't take another Tyler/Caroline breakup. Remember when he came over to take some of his stuff back? I still have a scar where a piece of the plate hit me."
"One of the good china pieces too," Damon added. "Worth quite a bit. Caroline certainly knows how to pick 'em."
"But they haven't broken up yet?"
"No – though Caroline is over here, and the only aim of this I can see is that she is trying to send us all into a sugar coma. She's baking – pies and cakes and biscuits and everything else. We could hold a bake sale for the entire town and still have plenty left over."
"Why's she doing it at your place?"
"God knows. Don't worry though, I'm doing damage control."
"Thank God." In the background Damon could hear the bell ring. "Shit I'm late. Good luck, and remember Damon, you have our near-future happiness in your hands."
"So no pressure then?" Damon hung up and wandered round the other side of the house, near the front. He had told Tyler not to come in the house – if he was going to question him then it wouldn't do to have Caroline listening in.
He met the werewolf at the gate. Tyler was wearing a jogger's outfit, and looked suitably sweaty. "What's this about?" he asked.
"You tell me," Damon growled, hoping that he sounded threatening. "While we're having this chat your girlfriend is in my kitchen peeling a dozen apples to put in a pie."
Tyler gave a shrug. "Good news for Peter Rabbit."
"This isn't amusing, Ty."
"Why is she in your kitchen anyway?"
"I haven't a clue – maybe she likes the fact that it's a big kitchen. The point is that she is in there turning my kitchen into a bakery because she's worried about your relationship." Tyler turned his head to the ground, looking uncomfortable. "She says your moody and being off with her-"
"What are you, playing matchmaker?"
"If I have to," Damon said bluntly. "Thee two of you have been going out for fifteen years, and stayed together for the last five. I thought that you would have sorted all your drama and issues out by now."
"We have."
"Really? Because Caroline doesn't seem to think so."
Tyler looked up at Damon. "I've been distant because I am hiding something from Caroline."
Damon stifled a groan. "Oh God, please don't tell me it's another girl. You can't tell Caroline that; she'll kill her." The vampire would have continued if he hadn't been blindsided by a little blue box. A second later he opened it, revealing a gold ring with a sizable diamond.
Damon stared at it. "I'm flattered Ty but I don't swing that way."
Tyler rolled his eyes, not even bothering to come up with a response. "I've been planning to ask Car to marry me."
The vampire closed his eyes. "Thank God. She may scream our ears off, but at least she won't be sobbing during all hours of the day wondering where it went wrong." He turned his attention back to the werewolf. "Do it soon. Caroline's driving herself and everyone else insane with her paranoia."
"Give me time D."
"Plan it out all you want, just do it soon. If you don't I'm sending all the baked goods over to your place and believe me, your apartment may be bigger than you expected but it won't be that big."
Tyler sighed. "Don't worry Damon. It'll be soon, I promise."
Damon watched his friend disappear into the forest. His mind abandoned the present then; how could it remain when he had suddenly been reminded of another ring, one that was a lot closer to his heart...
One thing that I am truly delighted about is that Stefan didn't give Elena my mother's ring. Though at one point I was certain it was meant to be on her finger, now I picture it on Rebecca's slim fingers.
I stare at it for another moment before stuffing it back into my underwear drawer. It's not as if I'm planning to propose to Rebecca in the next day or so – she doesn't even know that I'm a vampire yet. If I'm honest I'm terrified of telling her. Every time I attempt to tell her my courage fails me. How do you really start with that conversation?
I am brought out my thoughts when I hear Rebecca coming in the room. She is wearing one of my shirts – designer, but I don't mind if she spills anything on it; she's worth more – and some of my clean boxers. And she's carrying two dishes filled with fruit and cream. "Elena and Stefan are downstairs."
I grin as I take one of the bowls, kissing her in the process. She smiles and it makes me smile too. "Did they grill you?"
"They tried," answers Rebecca. "They're polite but I don't understand why they keep on asking me all these questions."
"I think they're just trying to understand why you're attracted to me."
She takes my hand and leads me back to the bed. She lies down and I am on top of her. Perfect. I can see that she thinks so too because she grins, brightening her entire face. I take a grape and feed it to her like she's a baby.
"What I don't get is how you can be attracted to someone like me," Rebecca murmurs. "You're so stunning and sweet and-"
"Don't even say that," I interrupt. I bend down and nuzzle my nose against hers. "You're a better person than I will ever be. You're so beautiful that not even the goddess of beauty could compete; and you're one of the kindest people I know. I don't deserve you."
We kiss for some time before I continue feeding her. I have no interest in the food; why would I? I had some blood last night, now I'm perfectly fine.
"I can't believe Elena and Stefan's wedding is tomorrow," Rebecca says.
Before Rebecca, this would have been the day I dreaded; one that would make me feel sick just thinking about it. The one that would depress me. But not anymore. It's strange, but I think I'm finally seeing Elena in her real light. Not that Elena is a bad person, not at all. But she adores Stefan, and though she is a little selfish, she is a good person. I'm not perfect enough for her, but that's okay. Her standards are too high, especially since I am not even with her. But for Rebecca, it's easy. It's easy to be this way, to be kind and loving. She makes it easy.
Maybe it's meant to be that easy.
"I know. One very long day that we can't spend in bed together." I place my head on her chest, sighing at the thought. She laughs, knowing that I think that any day that I haven't spent directly in Rebecca's company is a day wasted.
But it is. Why the hell would I want to spend one second away from her? I already spend too much time away from her as it is.
And yet... We are beginning to have a pattern, a certain domestic air that surrounds us. We argue about things such as dinner; at her apartment I know where the cutlery is; we shower together and if one of us has to dash off (usually Rebecca and usually to get some food – I worry that she barely seems to eat) we left messages on the smoked mirror for each other – and they always end the same way: "P.S. I love you."
She's the one I think I could stay with for the rest of my life. If only... If only she knew that I was a vampire. Then I would be confident in our relationship. Until then, I can't be sure – but if I was a human, then we would be solid. In fact I wouldn't just be dreaming of proposing – I would be planning it.
"We have all day together," she says, stroking my hair. I feel like a child having his mother soothe him. "We can do whatever you want."
I can feel a grin on my face. "Is that a promise?"
She laughs as I move the bowls on the bedside table. "Is that all you think about?"
"No," I reply honestly. "Just about every ten seconds or so. But that's average for most guys. Besides, you have no idea what you do to me."
She strokes my face, and we stare in each other's eyes. "I love you," she whispers, and kisses me on the lips. It's not exactly passionate, but it's sweet and it leads to something more. I roll her on top of me as she laughs, loudly and almost gleefully, like a little child.
Thank God for this day – this day where we can be together. I pray to God there are more days like this – many many more.
Damon was still gazing into the distance. He didn't know how long he'd been standing there, but it did seem a little cooler. With a sigh he turned back and started back towards the boarding house. He hoped that Caroline hadn't baked the house down while he'd been talking to Tyler – after all, it seemed possible.
xXx
"Superman? Superman's your favourite super hero?" Liam shook his head. "That's so white bread."
"You blindsided me!" argued Tari. "And what's wrong with Superman? He was a good super hero, and there was the whole Lois Lane romance thing."
"But he's boring," Liam said. "Mr Perfect. No one likes Mr Perfect."
"Alright," Sawyer said, who was getting sick and tired of this argument. "Who's your favourite?"
"Batman," he answered without hesitation.
"Batman?" scoffed Sawyer. "Seriously?"
"What's wrong with Batman?"
"He's a nothing super hero. He has no powers at all."
"But that's the point! He can do whatever he Superman did but without the powers – like defeat Penguin man-"
"That's a bad villain. And a disgusting one." Sawyer wrinkled her nose.
"Okay, what about you?" Liam asked.
"Spiderman," Sawyer replied with perfect precision.
Tari looked at her friend. "Seriously? You have a favourite super hero?"
"And it's Spiderman?" Liam seemed sceptical.
Sawyer sent Tari a quick wink. "He's obviously very flexible."
Liam groaned, leaning against the lockers. "Where the hell is Allen? I need the voice of wisdom here!"
"Nefertari?" For a moment Tari didn't even remember that was her. But when Liam and Sawyer turned their heads, she followed their gaze. Mrs Kennedy was standing outside her office, looking very intimidating in her high heels. She beckoned to Tari and the girl nodded. Picking up her bag she followed the teacher, having a feeling that she was going to walk into a huge disappointment.
"Meet you at the canteen," Sawyer hissed.
"Good luck Nefertari," Liam called. Tari turned to him and quickly gave him the finger; he broke into loud laughter before turning away and going down the hall with Sawyer. Tari spared them a longing glance before walking into the office.
"Please have a seat," Mrs Kennedy said, indicating the chair opposite. Tari sat, feeling queasy every moment longer then she was sitting there. Surely Mrs Kennedy was going to give her a lecture about how she shouldn't judge her teachers and should except the marks that she was given. So I made a big fuss over nothing, put Damon and Allen under stress for nothing. Nice going Nefertari.
"There were many simple grammar mistakes that could have easily been avoided," she said, leafing through papers to find Tari's. "I know that there's more pressure during an exam, but I would recommend proof-reading more. To improve I would suggest writing in more examples of the points you made; some ones that you used barely agreed with the points you made."
With each word Tari felt herself sink lower into her chair. She wished that she could slow down time, forever be sitting in this chair – though she imagined eventually she would grow tired of being in the office for hours. She felt her chest seize when Mrs Kennedy brought out her paper and handed it to Tari.
Tari couldn't help but glance at the paper; she told herself she wouldn't look at it until she was out the door, but naturally she couldn't help herself.
Oh my God.
Mrs Kennedy sat opposite her, and allowed herself a rare smile. "Your opinions, however, showed depth and originality; you stick to your argument and argue it well. You're a very talented writer."
Tari didn't hear the words, not really. Her eyes were on the big fat A on her paper. An A. She got an A on her paper. And from Mrs Kennedy of all people! She fought the smile that was about to come on her face.
"I spoke with Mr Herman," said Mrs Kennedy, and that caught Tari's attention. "I asked him about why he marked you so low. It appears that he thought your arguments were weak. He stands by his grade but I have informed him that the one I have given you is the one that is going to remain." Mrs Kennedy studied her face intently, and Tari could feel her gaze burning her. She tried not to show it on her face, but there were so many emotions inside her at the moment – embarrassment, worry, and mostly success – that she could not tell what she had looked like. "Is there something that you would like to tell me?"
All at once Tari realised what Mrs Kennedy thought; what of course she would have thought. Of course they look to me, she thought bitterly. Why would they look at Sawyer, the girl who gets As in all her subjects? She felt a quick smouldering shot of anger towards Mr Herman – not Sawyer. Even if this all started with Sawyer, Tari had enraged him even further. She had never been able to keep her mouth shut. Besides, he was the one behaving so childish. If he had given her the grade she had deserved then he wouldn't be under suspicion.
"No," Tari answered. "There's nothing going on."
It didn't look as if Mrs Kennedy believed her, but she didn't press the girl. "Very well. If it's alright with you I would like you to show me all your papers in the future."
"Okay," Tari agreed, standing up. "Thank you Mrs Kennedy," she said, making sure she sounded like she meant it. And she did.
"You're welcome Nefertari," she said, and this time Tari didn't mind. As Tari approached the door, Mrs Kennedy called, "And please inform your friend Liam that I want to hear his own opinions, not the ones from websites."
Tari couldn't hide her smile. "I will."
When she closed the door she realised Allen was standing at the lockers opposite. Grinning, Tari rushed forward and shoved the paper in his hand. Allen couldn't help but laugh, glancing at the big A on the paper.
"So you were right," he answered.
"I was right," Tari repeated a big grin etched over her face. Victory tasted as sweet as honey. "And now I've gotten him in trouble."
Allen's smiled faded slowly. "Do you think he'll retaliate?"
Tari shrugged. She was in such a good mood, she almost wanted him to. She had proven that she could beat him, and she would do it again if she had to. He would think twice before messing with her again.
"Let me just savour this for a while, okay?" She could see him looking worried, and she moved closer to squeeze his hand. "Smile Allen! Its okay, I'll be okay. I can take care of myself."
With effort Allen sighed, relaxing. A smile graced his lips and Tari, still high on success, let out a little cheer, swinging her arms in the air. Allen couldn't help but laugh; Tari was so hyper, so happy that no one could be annoyed at her. "Race ya to the canteen!" she called before she began running down the hall. A second later she could hear Allen behind her, and picked up speed. He had no chance of catching her; she had been running with Liam, and she had so much energy now. They instantly attracted attention, and Mr Von Trapp yelled out in his rippling accent, "No running in the halls!" But there was no chance that he could catch up to them; they had already rushed past him, unstoppable.
xXx
"What are you doing?" I ask. I can feel her finger tracing my chin, moving over my jaw line.
"Learning you off by heart," she murmurs. "I think I could close my eyes and still be able to draw you perfectly. In my mind anyway," she says as I pull her closer to me. "I'm still at the stick figure stage."
It's the day of Stefan and Elena's wedding – already. Yesterday had been perfect, just the two of us. But now we have to go out and be presentable; Rebecca has to play the guest, I have to be the best man. The ceremony will be hours itself and that is too long to not have her in my arms. It's scary, how much I have come to depend on her.
It's quiet now – we're up early, too early for even Elena the bride. It's perfectly silence, and I love it. It feels as if it's just us in the world, and that's the only way I want it to be. So far I've manage to do so, to make the world just us.
"We'll need to get up soon," she says quietly, her voice in my ear.
"I know," I murmur, holding her – if possible – closer. "Why don't we just skip it?"
"You're the best man!"
"I'm sure someone can step in."
"Have you written your speech yet?"
"Yep."
She sits up on her elbows. "Can I hear it?"
I sit up too, clearing my voice. "'Stefan and Elena are the two most boring people on the planet. They're perfect for each other.'" I lean back and smile at Rebecca.
"That's it?" she asks, raising an eyebrow. I smirk at her in response. "Wow. They should give you an award."
"Yeah well, I hate long speeches. Besides, I want to spend more time with you, and the more I hurry the speeches along the better. Alaric's giving one and I've already talked to him about shortening his speech down. I tried to convince him to do it as a favour, and when that didn't work I paid him off with my best bottle of scotch. I've been saving that too." I shake my head as Rebecca's grin grows. "Stefan will drone on for about an hour, but I can't help that."
"I see you've got this all prepared," she says.
I smirk at my girl. "I'm nothing if not efficient."
"We better work on the next part then." When I frown at her quizzically she gets up to my iPod. She chooses a song – Just a Kiss, by Lady Antebellum – and twirls round. "Better practice your dance moves."
I already smirking as I walk towards her. "No need to worry about that. I was born to dance."
"Oh yeah?" She steps towards me, a challenge. "Prove it."
I shake my head. Well, she asked for it. I sweep in, using a bit of my vampire speed and lift her off her feet. She gives a surprised gasp before I put her back on the ground. I then position us as if we're ballroom dancing and lead, stepping perfectly. Rebecca is no expert but she follows well, her eyes lighting up in surprise. "I hadn't expected you to know how to dance."
"I'm a man of mystery." How true.
She is twirled round and I bring her back to me. "I'm not that impressed," she says. "It's not as if you can walk on water."
"Oh really," I say, lifting an eyebrow. She looks at my face, eyes on me, knowing I will retort. And I do; I lift her directly off her feet and into my arms bridal style – bad choice of words today, with where my mind is – and swing her round. She is crying out at me, telling me to put me down. Well she would be, if she could form words from laughter. She grips my chest and I feel a sudden whirl of protectiveness over her. I will protect her, with my life.
If there was any moment I would want to freeze, any time that I would want to live over and over again, it would be this. Swinging Rebecca in the air, our laughter the music; this moment is pure beauty, pure love. No matter how many years I live, even if I live as long as Klaus, this will be the greatest moment of my life. I know it.
Throughout the wedding ceremony, right from the moment Jeremy walks Elena down the aisle (still a little annoyed that Bonnie refused to attend the wedding) to when they kiss, my eyes are always on Rebecca. Her gaze flickers to the couple by the alter, her attention riveted to the wedding, but more often do her eyes return to me. Every time our eyes meet, brown on blue, we can't help but think of that moment dancing.
We can't help but smile.
He heard footsteps up the path. Startled he sat up, taken once more out the past. Glancing at the clock, Damon realised it must be Tari. Thank God. When he wasn't thinking about Rebecca, he was thinking about Tari. He couldn't help but worry about that Herman guy. He wanted to investigate this guy – and he would, in time. But he needed to assess the situation first, have Alaric watch him to see what he was really up to. If it turned out to be nothing...
This is you and Tari. When is it ever nothing?
By the time she opened the door he was standing day. She was surprised but hid it well – still, not well enough for Damon not to see it. He hadn't appeared at the door the second she stepped through it for a while now, though the Home by Four rule was still strictly applied.
"You're waiting for me?" she asked.
Damon sent her his trademark grin. "I wanted to hear how your day was."
Tari rolled her blue eyes. "You're so predictable." She had no chance of escape as he pinned her to his side, leading her to the sofa. So much for going up to my room and losing myself in a book.
He pulled her onto his lap. "So tell me about your day."
Knowing what he wanted, Tari held out a little. "They served pepperoni pizza instead of ham and mushroom today."
"Funny," said Damon. "Now how about that teacher? Did he harass you again?"
"No Damon," said Tari with a laboured sigh. "Nothing happened with him." It was a little bit of a lie; during English that afternoon Mr Herman had been in a particularly bad mood. She could tell that Sawyer was a little stunned at how he lost it over one student who forgot their book. Tari knew it was all aimed at her. He didn't say anything to her – he must have known that they were going to be paid special attention to. But he caught her eye at one moment, darkening at once. She read the look in them, and returned it almost instantly.
Game on.
"What about that grade?" Damon asked. "Has it been looked at again?"
In response Tari grabbed her bag, pulling the paper out. She had been glancing at down at her bag throughout the lesson, as if draining power from it. She couldn't help but feel incredibly smug at this.
Damon glanced at the paper, doing a double-take. "You got an A?"
Tari shot him a look. "Don't sound too surprised."
In response Damon pressed a kiss on her forehead. "You obviously take after me," he said smugly. She could hear the pride in his voice, see it on his face, and she couldn't help but feel pleased. What a smug pair they must look.
"And that's supposed to make me happy?"
Damon was about to give a smart-ass comment back when he winced. Tari sat up a little when the look of pain didn't leave his face. "What is it?" she asked. Was he having a stroke? Could vampires get strokes?
"Caroline," Damon answered. "She's screaming."
Tari glanced round the house. "Where?"
"She's at the Lockwoods."
His daughter turned back to him. "And you can hear her?"
"Not usually – but when Caroline is this happy she screams particularly loud." At Tari's bemused look he explained. "Tyler's asked her to marry him."
Tari's face broke out into a grin and she gave a little squeal of her own. Oh yeah, she's a girl. "Really? That's brilliant! She must be so relieved."
"She's definitely happy," Damon answered, blocking one of his ears. "Ouch."
Stefan appeared in the living room, followed a second later by Elena. "Is that Caroline?"
"Yep."
Stefan sat down next to Damon. "I'm betting she'll be here in, what, five seconds."
"Ten," Damon countered. They were both wrong when a great gust of wind flew through the house and Caroline appeared beside Elena. The blonde was almost vibrating – Tari had never seen a sight like it.
"TYLER PROPOSED!" Her voice was loud and high enough to break glass; the three vampires covered their ears and Tari flinched from it. "I can't believe it! Look!" She thrust the ring in Elena's face; the brunette tried to get a good look at it but Caroline, being hyper, took it away a second later and showed it off to Stefan, Tari and Damon.
"He was so sweet! My God I love him! I LOVE HIM! I knew he wasn't cheating on me, I knew it!" She was practically dancing in one spot. "And you're all going to be part of the wedding! Damon, Stefan, you'll be best men – Tari, Elena, you're going to be bridesmaids! This is going to be the BEST wedding EVER!"
"I'm so happy for you Caroline." Elena went to hug the blonde, but Caroline's mind wasn't focussed; practically screaming that she had to tell her mother she blew out the house leaving Elena hugging thin air.
The house seemed extremely quiet now that she had gone. "Wow."
"She's like a tornado," Stefan commented.
"Tell me about it."
"Did she say we're going to be part of her wedding?" Damon glanced from Stefan and Elena, and when they both nodded in confirmation he groaned. "God, she'll be unbearable! You know what she's like; if one petal of a rose is out of place the entire day will be ruined."
"Look the bright side," Elena said, collapsing on Stefan's lap. "At least she and Tyler haven't broken up."
"True," Damon agreed. "If he had broken up with her, never mind Caroline – I would have killed him."
xXx
"Caroline's wedding is in July?" Tari faced Damon properly as he drove her to school. "She's seriously going to have some planning to do."
Damon was already shaking his head. "We'll have to avoid her – when Caroline's stressed she is not pleasant to be around."
"Yeah, we can really avoid Caroline. Besides, we're part of the wedding. They'll be dress fittings and rehearsals and dinners and all sorts."
"These are going to be some fun months," Damon said dryly, pulling up in front of the school. She leant forward over the chair and kissing him on the cheek, about to say goodbye. Damon's hand on her wrist stopped her from exiting the car. "Is he here?"
Tari raised an eyebrow. "Is who here?"
"That teacher?" Damon scanned the grounds, but all he could see were students.
The girl sighed, leaning back in the chair. "Relax Damon, he's not here. It's sorted, remember?"
"I still don't like him," Damon said. Tari saw him grip the steering wheel. Oh yeah, Herman's being smart. He's messing with a girl who has a dad that's a vampire. Clever move.
"He's not going to do anything to me." She winked at him. "I'm stronger than I look."
"That's what I'm worried about." Finally Damon relinquished her and she got out the car, waving as she walked away. He continued to watch his daughter as she walked up the steps of the building. For a moment he was surprised to see a dark tabby cat sitting on the ledge. He remembered Tari mentioning it earlier this week, how a cat had been hanging round the school.
He didn't give it another thought, even when his daughter gave the cat a quick stroke on the head before entering the building. But the cat's eyes followed Tari, glancing back at Damon as he drove away.
Protective, the cat noted, and gave a quick shake of the head. That could make things a little difficult.