Chapter 6: Stay with You
Aria rolled over and moaned slightly, feeling the sunlight hit her face causing her to bury her face into the pillow. Hearing footsteps, she slowly lifted her head as her eyes fluttered open, curious to who had walked in. Looking over her shoulder, she seen Damon in the bathroom and smiled, lying her head back down as she let out a small yawn and rolled onto her back.
"Good morning sleeping beauty." He called to her, drying his face as he walked over to the bed and lifted his shirt, slipping it on.
"Good morning." Sitting up, she rubbed her face, trying to wake herself up and looked over at the clock, seeing it was 10am, "Thank god I have no school."
"Never skipped school huh?" He asked with a smile as he sat on the edge of the bed, buttoning up his shirt.
"Of course I have." She replied, yawning again as she lied back down and smiled up at him.
"Uh huh. I'm sure. I'm popping out for a couple of hours. You can stay here if you want, do what you want. Stuff your face, wash, have fun." He told her, grinning as he got up and pulled his shoes on, along with his leather jacket. She laughed and smiled with a nod as she hugged the pillow and closed her eyes, feeling herself drifting off again. Chuckling, he pulled the covers over her gently and walked out, closing the door behind him.
Aria took a sip of her coke and wandered around the house, looking around at the endless amounts of pictures of Stefan and Damon when they were much younger. Seeing the bookshelf, she walked over as she ran her fingertip over the spines of the books, reading each title with a smile on her face. Smiling, she walked upstairs again and into Damon's room as she looked around, feeling curious. Seeing a guitar in the corner, she walked over and gently took it into her hands as she walked back over to the bed and sat down, playing some chords as a smile spread across her face.
It had been a while since she had played guitar. She had forgotten about it due to the Ezra/parents situation. Playing guitar helped her find peace, made her think she was in a completely other place. Closing her eyes, she began playing one of her favourite songs, the sound passing through the air as she fell into her own world.
Damon walked inside, slipping his shades off and closed the door as he listened out, hearing the guitar and smiled curiously as he made his way upstairs and to his room. He grinned, leaning in the doorway as he watched Aria playing his guitar as if she were in another world. Walking over quietly, he sat on the edge of the bed and placed his hand on her waist, chuckling when she jumped and nearly dropped the guitar.
"Jeez, you scared me." She told him, laughing as she got up and walked over, placing the guitar back on its stand gently.
"I didn't know you could play." She smiled and walked back over to the bed, climbing onto it as she leaned back against the headboard.
"You never asked." He nodded with a grin and got up, taking his jacket off as he hung it up.
"So, what did you do? Did you go wild?" Damon questioned with a teasing smirk as she laughed and sipped her drink.
"As you can see, I went...VERY wild." She told him as she got up and walked to the window, looking out at the sunshine.
"Uh huh. So I can see. Are you up for a fun night?" He questioned, raising an eyebrow as she looked over at him, curiously.
"What's your meaning of fun? Will it be in Mystic Falls?" Aria asked smiling and laughed as she took a seat on the window ledge.
"Unfortunately, yes because Stefan, Elena and Barbie are joining us. So the fun goes as far as the Mystic Grill." He told her, pulling his shirt off as he went into the bathroom
Aria smiled, shaking her head and looked over at him, her eyes lingering as she took in his body. The well toned, defined abs. The lean back muscles. The well-defined jaw. It made him so much hotter. It doesn't help with his attitude either, it makes him irresistable. Shaking her head, she looked away with a smile.
"I seen that Montgomery...checking me out." He announced with a grin as he turned the shower on.
"Pfffttt. You wish Salvatore." She scoffed, a blush on her cheeks as she looked outside.
"It's okay. I was checking you out too while you were sleeping." He replied as she looked at him and laughed as he winked.
"Gosh, you're such a creep!" She yelled, picking up a pillow and threw it at him, laughing more as he laughed along with her and threw it back, pushing his jeans off.
"Ah before I forget." Walking over to his jacket, he pulled a box out and walked toward her as she got up and looked him up and down.
"Seriously?" Aria asked, ushering to the fact that he was only wearing boxers and laughed as he smirked and took a necklace out of the box.
"Turn around." He told her as she smiled, turning around and rolled her eyes.
"What did I do to deserve this? I just slept in your bed." She told him, laughing as she lifted her hair, allowing him to slip it on and clip it.
"Stops you from falling under compulsion. It's protection. Never take it off missy." He told her, placing the box down and walked back into the bathroom.
"Captain." She responded, saluting and smiled, playing with the necklace as she walked out.
"That girl." Damon murmured, laughing and pushed his boxers down, stepping into the shower.
Running the straighteners through her hair, she looked into the mirror, checking her hair and chewed her lip, making sure that she was happy with the way that it was sitting. It will do for tonight. Turning her straighteners off, she pulled at the red dress she was wearing and fixed the straps. Smiling, she applied lip-gloss and grabbed her bag, walking out.
Walking into the Grill, Aria glanced around, her eyes catching a few familiar people from school and ordinary customers that sit in the Grill during the day. Pushing through the crowd gently, she smiled, seeing everyone and walked over towards them.
"Hey guys." She greeted as Caroline and Elena looked at her with big smiles.
"Hello you. You're looking hot." Caroline told her laughing as Stefan smiled at her and sat next to Elena, stealing some of her drink.
"Ah, there's my girl." Looking over her shoulder, she seen Damon heading their way as he placed drinks down.
"Ha, you wish Salvatore." She told him, smiling as he laughed and nodded.
"That I do. Do you want a drink?" Raising an eyebrow, he pointed towards the bar as she placed her bag down.
"Its alright. I got it." Her brown eyes shimmered with happiness as she patted his cheek and made her way towards the bar and smiled at Matt.
"Hey stranger. Where have you been?" Matt asked with a smile as he served people their drinks.
"Here, there, everywhere." She told him laughing as he laughed along with her, "I'll just have a coke please."
"Coming right up miss." He replied as he got it ready for her, giving her a chance to glance around and see who has actually came.
"Hey Aria!" Looking around, she seen a girl with dark hair and a cheerful smile. She smiled back, remembering her from when Caroline had introduced them.
"Hey Bonnie." She greeted, reaching up to play with her necklace.
"I see he got it to you." She told her, smiling as she nodded at the necklace, causing Aria to smile.
"Yeah...shockingly." She responded, laughing with her and walked over to everyone with Bonnie tagging along behind.
Aria burst out into laughter and tilted her head back as Damon held onto her, keeping her balanced, laughing himself as he took another two shots and downed them at the same time as he lifted her down from the bar. She smiled, taking more of the shots and downed them, sticking her tongue out at him as she danced to the music. Shaking his head, he grabbed the bottle of bourbon and took a gulp, holding it out for her as she smiled, taking it and gulping some down herself.
"Damon." Stefan warned him sternly as he nodded at Aria as Damon waved at him, taking the bottle back and taking a drink.
"We should be dancing on the bar Mr Salvatore." Aria told him, smiling as she wagged her finger at him.
"That we should Miss Montgomery." Jumping up onto the bar, he smiled at her and began dancing as Stefan groaned and downed his drink.
"Oh my god." Caroline murmured in disbelief as she watched Damon lift Aria onto the bar and they danced together.
"Well, it could be worse." Elena told them, shrugging.
"Aria Montgomery!" The three of them looked around to see an average aged man, who looked like he was about to blow.
"Uh oh, my dad." Aria whispered innocently to Damon as he looked and laughed, giving her a thumbs up.
"You're in trouble." Dropping down from the bar, he lifted the brunette down, smiling at her as she kissed his cheek and made her way over to her dad.
"Aria we're going home." Byron told her angry as she crossed her arms, giving him a look.
"Why don't you stop bothering me and go hang out with your girlfriend that you love so much? Have you told mom yet, hmm?" Tilting her head to the side, she smiled sweetly as he gave her a look and grabbed her arm, dragging her outside.
"You're coming home right now Aria!" He told her, getting angry as she tugged her arm away from him.
"I'm not a child, so don't treat me like one!" She replied, coming out of her happy state as she pushed him away and walked past him.
"You're not 18 yet, so your still a child! Whether you like it or not!" He shouted at her as she turned around.
"Obviously I'm old enough 'dad' to deal with all of YOUR shit." The brunette told him, pointing at him as she was shaking from anger. "I'm telling mom...I don't care."
"No you won't." He told her as she laughed and shook her head.
"What? Are you scared of being thrown out? I hope mom throws you out on your ass like YOU deserve. Uh, some kind of husband you are." Shaking her head, she walked away from him and walked up the road, turning down an alley and took a deep breath, feeling the anger bubble up inside of her.
Leaning against the wall, she closed her eyes and chewed down on her bottom lip as she felt herself calming down. She felt like she was acting sometimes with all of this drama. Opening her eyes, she jumped and screamed when she seen Damon in front of her and pushed him.
"Bloody hell Damon!" Placing her hand over her chest, she shook her head.
"What?" He asked innocently and chuckled as he took her hand, pulling her along, "Come on. I got an idea."
"I hope it's a VERY good one." She replied, following him down the alley.
Looking around, she smiled and bit her lip as she walked onto the stage and hugged herself, pulling at her dress timidly. They had drove for an hour and ended up at some old theatre, that looked like it had been shut down many years ago.
"Here ya go." Damon walked over, smiling and passed her a guitar as she chewed her lip, confused.
"And I'm supposed to do...what with this?" She asked as he gently pushed her down onto the stool and jumped down from the stage, sitting in the seats.
"Entertain me. I'm your audience." He told her, grinning as he placed his arms behind his head, leaning back.
"Hell no." She responded nervously, looking at him.
"Come on, pretty please. Play, sing, no one's judging." Giving her a charming grin, he winked.
"Fine." She murmured, smiling and shook her head, balancing the guitar on her lap. Taking a steady breath, she swallowed and strummed her fingers along the strings as she was trying to think of a song. Nodding a little, thinking of a song, she began playing the guitar and looked down at the floor. A couple of seconds, she began singing softly. Thankful for Damon, he had amazing hearing.
When I think back on these time and the dreams we left behind
I'll be glad cause I was blessed to get, to have you in my life
When I look back on these days, I'll look and see your face
You were right there for me
Damon tilted his head and smiled softly, watching and listening to her memorized. What couldn't she do? He chewed his lip, sitting forward a little, trying to understand what the song meant to her.
In my dreams, I'll always see you soar above the sky
In my heart, there will always be a place for you for all my life
I'll keep a part of you with me and everywhere I am
There you'll be and everywhere I am
There you'll be
Well you showed me how it feels, to feel the sky within my reach
And I always will remember all the strength you gave to me
Your love made me make it through
Oh, I owe so much to you
You were right there for me
In my dreams, I'll always see you soar above the sky
In my heart, there will always be a place for you for all my life
I'll keep a part of you with me and everywhere I am
There you'll be and everywhere I am
There you'll be
Aria swallowed and blinked back the tears that were threatening to fall, as all of tonight's commotion finally hit her. It had been a tough run with her parents, her cheating dad, her one true love who threw her away like a piece of trash. It was hitting her hard. She finally found a reason to hate drink.
Cause I always saw in you my light, my strength
And I want to thank you now for all the ways.
You were right there for me
You were right there for me
For always
In my dreams, I'll always see you soar above the sky
In my heart, there will always be a place for you
For all my life
I'll keep a part of you with me
And everywhere I am
There you'll be
And everywhere I am
There you'll be
And everywhere I am
There you'll be
There.. you'll be
Playing the last few notes on the strings, she breathed deeply and looked up, smiling softly at Damon as he was shocked. He slowly got up and walked over to her and bent down in front of, taking one of her hands and kissed it.
"You've been hurt before." He whispered softly with a small smile, knowing he could relate to that on some levels with Katherine and Elena. Neither of them wanted him.
"That's why I'm careful on who I trust." She told him, chewing her lip and placed the guitar down, feeling exhaustion pass through her.
"Come on, lets get you home, mmh?" Damon asked, stroking her hair back as his blue eyes twinkled from the stage lights.
"Can I stay with you?" Aria murmured as he smiled and nodded.
"Yeah...yeah, of course you can." He responded, lifting her into his arms as she buried her face into his neck, feeling the urge to fall asleep as he walked out, leaving the events of tonight behind them.
A./N: I hope you all enjoyed =) If your interested in knowing what the song was, it's There you'll be by Faith Hill. Hope it was okay.
Shauna
xx