Chapter 13: Only get Better

Scattered. Endless amounts of paper scattered across the room. It looks like it had snowed inside, since most of the paper was ripped into tiny pieces of shred which were now lying on the floor with no meaning what so ever. Aria threaded her finger through her hair and pulled at it. She was frustrated. 24 hours without an inch of sleep. Nothing was coming to her. She'd thrown the notepad and pen down an hour ago and hadn't touched them ever since. She couldn't think straight. No lyrics were appearing in her head, nothing. Letting out a breath, she squeezed her eyes shut, trying to muster up the last strength of her brain to conjure up some sort of verse of any kind.

Why was everything happening to her all at once? She remembers Damon. Her parents die. She moves in with Damon. She finds out that her dad signed her life over to her evil step-mother. All she had to hear now is that she was going to get hit by a train, funnily enough she would believe it since so much was happening.

"Aria?" Damon's voice echoed as he moved down the staircase, rubbing at his eyes. It was obvious he had just woken up.
"Hmm?" Releasing the fists of hair, she slowly lifted her head to look at him.
"Its 3 in the morning." He told her, worry in his eyes as he took in her state. Red puffy eyes, pale skin, "You were at this yesterday as well. Give it a break, hmm?"

"I can't. I can't give it a break. I need to do this. It needs to be done or else." Aria told him, inhaling as she buried her face into her knees with a groan.
"If you don't give it a break, you won't LIVE to see the end of the week." Moving over, he bent down in front of her, resting his hands on either side of her.
"Camille will kill me." Aria whispered exhausted as she rubbed at her face, barely looking at him, since her eyes were drooping shut.
"Not if I touch her first. I can compel her if I feel like." His blue eyes shined with truth as she shook her head.

"No. Don't even think about it. This is my fight, I want to be able to deal with her, okay?" She warned him, pointing as he raised his hands in defence.
"I understand, but PLEASE...come to bed with me. Please? Then you can do as you please. Just grab a few hours." Damon bargained with her, smiling charmingly.
"Okay, okay." She agreed as he sighed in relief and scooped her into his arms as she automatically relaxed, her body finding home.

Pressing a kiss to the crown of her head, Damon held her close and moved at vampire speed, stopping suddenly when they were in his room. Lying her down on the bed, he grabbed one of his shirts from the cupboard and lifted her dress over her head, slipping the shirt on instead. Smiling lazily at him, she winked as he laughed and shook his head, climbing in beside her. Pulling the blankets up, he covered them as he moved closer, tightening his hold on her as his face found her hair. Just another day in paradise.

Strumming the strings, the melodic tune moved through the room as she concentrated. She needed to get this right. She had to admit, this was the hardest she had ever worked on a song and she wasn't going to even get the credit, the bitch of the leader bitch was. Biting her lip, she read the lyrics in her head and began moving her fingers across the strings again as she nodded along, humming in places where she couldn't quite fill in with words yet. Putting her guitar down, she shook her head. She needed to breathe, this was ridiculous, she wasn't a prisoner. Getting up, she moved downstairs and into the kitchen as she rummaged through the cupboards for something to munch on. Grabbing some cookies, she poured milk and sat at the table, beginning to eat. Did she feel better or what? It had been two days since her crazy drive for staying up more hours than sleeping. Damon told her off and she was glad he did.

"Aria Montgomery!" Lifting her head, she bit her lip as Elena and Caroline watched into the kitchen, "Figured you could use cheering up."
"Thanks girls." Smiling at Caroline, she continued eating her cookies as they both sat down.
"How are you holding up?" Elena questioned, lifting an eyebrow as she took a look around the place, "Where's Salvatore?"
"He's...somewhere." Aria answered, licking her lips, "He has a name as well, it's Damon. You should know, you've been round him long enough."

"Oh yes we have." Caroline told her with a laugh, "How's the song coming along?"
"I don't know. Knowing that I HAVE to write a song and feeling pressurized, is making it harder. When I'm relaxed, it just flows. No flowing at the moment."
"Why don't you just get Damon to compel her?" Elena questioned, leaning back as she raised an eyebrow.
"Nope. I told him not to get involved, it is MY fight. I'm going to prove my dad wrong." The brunette explained, sighing softly.

The door opened as they all looked up and seen Damon walking in with Stefan. Elena jumped up with a grin and ran over to Stefan as she wrapped her arms around his waist, hugging him close. Caroline looked at Aria as she stuck her finger down her throat, causing Aria to burst out laughing and shake her head as she sipped her drink. Stefan wrapped his arms around her, tightening his grip on her as she beamed. Damon walked into the kitchen as Aria got up, following him.

"You okay?" She asked softly as he poured a bourbon, taking a gulp.
"Yeah...yeah, I'm fine." He told her, his tone clipped.
"Liar." Aria told him with a sigh as she moved over to him and placed a hand on his back, "Talk to me."
"Just having a bad day." Damon explained, licking his lips as he finished his drink.
"Would it be any better if I made you a big fat chocolate cake? AND a glass of blood?" Raising an eyebrow, she smiled hopefully.
"It would be a start." He told her, grinning as he turned to her and squeezed her close to him, kissing the top of her head.
"Good." Laughing, she buried herself into him and pressed a kiss to his neck.

Aria strummed the last chord as her voice grew quieter and the song came to an end. Licking her lips, she looked up at Camille and Kelly who were looking between each other with thoughtful expressions. The brunette bit down on her lip and shook her head. This was ridiculous.

"It will have to do I guess." Camille rolled her eyes, "Could be better, but it will do."
"Yeah. I guess it would work...MAYBE I'll be able to sing it, I'll see how I feel." Kelly rolled her eyes, looking at her nails.
"Right. I'm glad...that we got that sorted." Aria spoke through gritted teeth as she dug her nails into her leg, calming herself, "Happy doing business."
"Yes. If I say so. We want that recorded. I have a studio you can come to and then your work is done until otherwise." Camille told her with a smirk.

Getting up, Camille and Kelly moved through the crowd as Aria banged her head on the table. The Mystic Grill was packed tonight, a buzzing atmosphere as everyone was dancing or playing pool. Everyone was having a blast. Feeling a hand on her back, she looked up, blue eyes burning into her brown.

"She's a bitch huh?" Damon asked, licking his lips as Aria nodded.
"Yup. Uh, I hate her." Aria told him and shook her head as she placed her guitar down carefully.
"Well, I may have done something." He told her with a soft grin.
"Damon!" She looked at him, wide-eyed, "I told you no compelling her to leave me alone or anything, this is my fight." She reminded him, furrowing her eyebrows.

"Just look." He told her with a smile as she frowned and turned her head towards the bar, her eyes growing wider.
"Oh my god." Aria burst into hysterics as Camille was up on the bar, making farm yard animal noises and imitating them also.

Everyone was laughing and pointing at her as Kelly stood, red faced and fuming as she glared and shouted at her mother to get in. Aria continued laughing along with everyone else as Damon smirked and shook his head, a chuckle slipping from his lips.

"Oh I love you." Aria told him, laughing softly as she leaned back into him.
"I know you do." He told her, kissing her shoulder as he held her close against him, watching Camille make a fool out of herself. Maybe it would only get better
from there.

A/N: Hey everyone :D Sorry this one is SOOO short :) I apologize, my mind hasn't been with it lately :S Hope you like anyway :)

Shauna
xx