Chapter 10
*A/N* Yes I updated! Sorry for the long wait I had a lot of stuff going on and finally decided that this needed to be continued. Yay. I will try to continue to update as much as I can but it might not be as often as before. Either way, this is chapter 10, enjoy! *A/N*
As Damon and Charlotte walked the city streets and turned into empty alleyways to avoid bumping into anyone, Charlotte thought she recognized the path. It was difficult to know for sure since she had always taken the main streets, but after she saw the bright sign illuminating the location and they walked through the front door, there was no mistaking it: they were back at the bar, the place Charlotte had just been serving drinks an hour earlier.
"What are we doing here?" Charlotte asked him. They hadn't talked the entire way. Mostly because Damon was listing out for possible threats, but also because Charlotte didn't know what to say. The fact that Damon chose to save her, that he gave up the tiny rock he had stolen (it must have been important to him Charlotte assumed), shocked her. No one had ever chosen her above their own interests, no one. Just as she finished that thought Charlotte noticed her manager walking up to her and Damon, eying him warily with a displeased expression.
"Charlotte, where did you go? You left the bar untended."
"Well, I…." she had no excuse. She couldn't just tell him she was kidnapped by vampires, he wouldn't believe her. Why did Damon bring her here?
"I'm going to have to dock your pay for this" he told her almost apologetically. At that moment Damon placed a hand on his shoulder. Alarmed, Charlotte's manager looked like he was about to ask him to leave until Damon spoke.
"You're not going to dock her on anything." Damon told him with a calm voice.
"You're going to go and take her shift at the bar while we get some drinks, oh and she deserves a raise don't you think. She's been working here, how long?" Damon turned to Charlotte.
"2 years" Charlotte whispered her eyes wide at what was going on in front of her.
"2 years," Damon repeated. "I believe that calls for a raise. You will not remember any of this after tonight, it will be just like any other night. Charlotte came, she worked, she cleaned up, she left. Now go tend the bar"
Charlotte's manager walked away a bit confused and, to Charlotte's surprise, went behind the bar and started tending in her place.
"Why," Charlotte began.
"Because you've worked here long enough, it's time that you relax for a night." Damon smiled at her and walked up to the bar and waited for her to follow. Smiling to herself Charlotte walked up and sat down beside him. Damon was already ordering a Bourbon. Charlotte's manager gave no reaction when she sat down in front of him and ordered one for herself. This was all new to her and she wasn't completely sure how to react to it.
Moments later, her manager returned with a bottle of Bourbon and poured glasses for both Charlotte and Damon.
"So, I see vampirism has it's perks" Charlotte commented breaking the silence. Damon looked at her for a moment before replying.
"And it's downfalls" The silence continued.
"Is that what was happening that first night….when we met?" Charlotte asked not entirely expecting an answer.
"Yeah, well… kind of….. Nevermind, that doesn't matter. Why don't you explain how after everything you've seen, you're barely even fazed." Damon replied changing the subject. Charlotte was unprepared for the question but she couldn't deny that now that Charlotte really thought about it, she WASN'T fazed. In fact, this was the most exhilarating thing that ever happened to her. With everything that had been going on she barely even thought about how she was reacting to it. She just...well… reacted. By now it was almost instinctive, if there was anything she had learned in her life was that there wasn't time for emotions to cloud your judgement, that giving up wasn't an option, that things happened and you just had to get through it. No excuses, because the alternative was worse. So that was what she did, she got through it.
"I guess i'm just used to it" Charlotte finally replied and Damon's eyes widened a fraction.
"How could you possibly be used to this?" Damon asked in a jokeful tone with a small smile to lighten the mood.
"Well, I've had a lot of practice," Charlotte paused at Damon's questioning expression. "It...it's a long story."
As if noticing Charlotte's discomfort in the situation, Damon backed off.
"Ok…"
"Wh," Charlotte hesitated her lips freezing mid-word as she debated whether to really ask her question. "When you said you wanted to find out….what did you mean?"
Damon looked at her curiously "I've met a lot of humans and a lot of vampires," he began. "But I haven't really cared about any of them" He paused as if thinking about something. "But i've never met anyone like you" he concluded. Charlotte stared at him appalled. How could she be any different than any number of people that Damon met in his 100+ year lifespan. It seemed unlikely. To fill the silence Charlotte sipped at her Bourbon, her glass almost empty as she looked across at Damon and she realized that his was already gone and her manager was refilling it. She eyed his glass wearily, even though she was a bartender Charlotte still wasn't completely used to casual drinking. She had had too many bad experiences with alcohol to truly relax. When she turned to look back at Damon, Charlotte noticed that he was still watching her, gauging her reaction. Almost as if he sensed her hesitation he spoke up.
"Do you want to go somewhere else?" Charlotte nodded.
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About thirty minutes later they stood at the edge of a lake with the night cool air blowing across their faces. The breeze felt cool and nice on Charlotte's face and she tilted her head back to take it all in. It had been forever since she had ever been able to relax and not have something she needed to do. It was always go to work, run errands, sleep and do it all over again. The moments of rest she did find were simply interims between the next worktime. Damon watched her quietly from a distance with a small smile on his face as she reveled in the freedom and Charlotte equally observed him from the corner of her eye. The way the moonlight cast a nice shadow across his features making every line more prominent. How the muscles in his arms, crossed along his chest, stood out firmly and, finally, how his eyes, his piercing blue eyes stared at her beneath long lashes. He was lost in thought, and completely oblivious to her casual glances. Standing there, illuminated by the moonlight, he was almost like an angel, a dark angel, her dark savior. It was hard to believe that they had met less than a week ago, with everything that had happened she felt like she had known him forever. Since the moment Charlotte found him lying in the middle of the road, she couldn't help but relate to the emptiness she saw in his eyes, how lost he felt. Somehow she sensed then that their demons were the same. They stood there for a while, not speaking while Charlotte casually picked up stones and attempted to skip them across the water while Damon continued to watch her from a distance with a thoughtful gaze until suddenly his calm expression was replaced with a frown.
"Charlotte…." he began slowly coming towards her. "You, you know you can't go back… right?" his words were careful, uncertain, sad and guilty all at the same time. He blamed himself, and Charlotte could see that. Everything that happened happened because she met him, that was true. Yet why wasn't she mad at him? Why didn't she hate the man standing in front of her for ruining her life?
Then Charlotte realized she already knew.
"You didn't ruin my life." she replied.
"What?" Damon asked appalled at her reply.
"You didn't ruin my life." Charlotte repeated. "I see the way you look at me, a part of you feels guilty that you brought all of this into my life, that you were what caused this to happen." She paused. "But it's not your fault"
"But it is, Charlotte everything that's happened is because you met me"
"I won't argue with that, but…. You don't get it….. You saved my life"
"I know but -" Charlotte cut him off again.
"I'm not talking about literally. My entire life i've done nothing but clean up other people's messes and work my butt off, and I probably would have continued doing the same thing for the rest of my life if you hadn't walked into that bar. You once told me that if I knew what was good for me I would find some guy to settle down with and be normal. But the thing is, i'm NOT normal. I've been through dozens of guys, trust me I thought I'd seen them alI, and every one was just the same. No one understood ME. I was trapped in a life that I hated. So you can say that you ruined my life, that I would be better off but the truth is, you SAVED me."
Damon's eyes widened more and more as he listened to Charlotte talk. Both their hearts were racing as they looked at each other, until eventually Damon closed the space between them. His lips reached Charlotte's fast and warm. Charlotte felt like something had exploded in her and she hadn't realized how much she had wanted to do this before now. This was nothing like any other kisses she had had, those were slow, calculated, sometimes needy on the behalf of the guy she was with. This was different, this was uncontrollable, almost as if they had both let go of something they had been holding onto all their lives. When Damon finally broke away, she couldn't help but feel like something had been taken from her but when she looked up into his wide blue eyes, full of concern and something else she couldn't quite describe, she felt the trade was almost worthwhile. Finally, Charlotte decided to break the silence between them.
"What now?" she asked.
"You're not safe here, we need to leave." Damon replied.
"Where are we going?" Damon paused thinking carefully until finally he replied with just two words.
"Mystic Falls"
