CHAPTER 3

"So, you'll be providing the entertainment tonight?" Damon smirked at me, pulling out my chair.

"Let's just say you'll be begging for a next date." I smirked, sitting down.

"Oh, so this is a date now?" Damon leaned into my ear, both hands still on the back of my chair.

"Do you know what makes a date a date?" I closed my eyes.

"Enlighten me."

"The goodnight kiss. So don't worry, I'll make this a date." He whispered, kissing my neck lightly. I shivered as he pulled away and sat down himself.

"Well, before I loose the ability to speak coherently then, I'll try to get as much out of you as possible." Damon chuckled. But there was a thinly veiled melancholy in his laugh. The only reason why I recognised it was because I knew all about melancholy myself.

"There's not really much to know. I'm just a regular guy."

"At risk of sounding desperate I'm gonna go out on a limb here and say that a regular guy doesn't look that good. Come on, give a little here. You know quite a bit about my family drama. And I've heard some things from Elena, but I want your side of the story."

"You really want to do the awkward ex conversation now?" he asked. He obviously didn't.

"Better get all the dirty laundry out in the open before this gets too complicated, don't you think?" Damon smiled a sad smile.

"Yeah well, I've got a very high stack of dry-cleaning bills, in that case. You don't really want to hear about it."

"Actually, yeah I do. I need to know my life could've been worse." I countered with a small laugh. I managed to get a real smile out of him.

"Ask away."

"Alright, I'll go for the kill then. I've heard quite a good deal about a girl named Katherine and a rather hardcore brothers' feud. Spill."

"Should've known." He mumbled with a groan. "Alright. Years ago, my brother, Stefan, and I met a girl named Katherine. She... umm, she played us. Both." Uh oh.

"At the same time?!" I couldn't believe this bitch! For one thing, Damon was enough for any woman. And for another... "You're brothers! That bitch!" I didn't know whether or not I was insulting her memory but the horrified look on my face made Damon chuckle. Albeit sadly.

"At the same time." He nodded. "The worst part was... we knew. We knew that the night's she wasn't with one of us, she was with the other. And we couldn't do anything. We were under a... spell. Before Katherine, we were the best of brothers. But she's been an issue between us ever since."

"Where is she right now?" I wondered with a growl.

"Why?" he didn't seem as down anymore. If the small smile on his face was any indication, he was curious.

"Because unless the bitch is already dead, I'm gonna kill her!" Damon laughed freely again. It made me feel a little better.

"Relax, she's already dead. She died in an accident what seems ages ago." I huffed.

"Coward." He laughed at my pouting face.

"Alright, what's next?" I smiled. This guy knew me already.

"Well, why are you still mad at Stefan?" he frowned, deep in thought.

"Hmm... I don't think I've ever given it much thought. I don't want to end up with Stefan's brooding forehead because of it. I guess it's just fun to piss him off. It's so easy!" that was more like the Damon I was falling for! I laughed.

"But don't you miss him?" the melancholy came back.

"I guess I do. We used to have so much fun together. We were kind of best friends, played ball, hanging out all the time. A few days ago we had a bit of a bonding time and it felt good. Like we were back in those days. Well, not quite but..." he finished with a funny face. I smiled.

"How long ago was this though? You're not that old and Stefan's... how many years are there between you?" Damon chuckled.

"A while ago. Stefan's 17, I'm 25." (1) I nodded. Something didn't really add up but if he didn't want to tell me, then I wasn't going to push him. Then, the metaphorical light bulb lit up.

"Why don't you try to make things right again. If this Katherine chick's gone... why not try to get things back to the way they were?"

"Could be. But Stefan doesn't trust me like that anymore. He'll think it's just another scheme to make his life miserable. Not that it isn't already what with Elena leaving him..."

"Do you know why that happened?" he nodded.

"Katherine." Figures. "She looked a lot like Elena. And Elena happened to find an old picture of her the other day."

"Oh."

"Yeah." He nodded, widening his eyes slightly to make his point. "Although it is a ridiculous reaction since Stefan is not the kind of guy who would do that. I'm more likely to do that than him."

"Would you?" at that moment, his gaze snapped straight into my eyes.

"Not anymore." The warmth in his eyes made me flush. They screamed honesty. I couldn't get another word out. He reached out to hold the hand I had resting on the table. I looked at our hands, felt the warmth of his skin, felt safe.

"You guys want to order anything?" I could've bitten the waitress's head off.

"I'll have another cup of coffee." Damon said. (2)

"I'll have a chocolate milkshake please." I knew it was childish but they were my drug. Well, chocolate was.

"Chocolate milkshake?" Damon mocked after the girl had left.

"What? They're yummy!"

"Aww. You want your yummy milkshake?" he asked in fake baby voice.

"Oh, shut up." Damon laughed. Then, my mental light bulb turned back on. "Why don't you get Stefan and Elena back together?" Damon stared on.

"Huh?"

"You want to straighten things out with Stefan, right?" he nodded with a non-committal shrug. "You do and you know it. Anyways, then, explain to Elena what you just told me and get them back together!" Damon looked at me as if I'd just invented gravity.

"Why didn't I think of that before?" I smirked.

"Because girls are smarter." He made a face. Then he frowned again.

"Well, I see a small problem with your genius plan."

"What?"

"Elena doesn't trust me. She's more likely to trust Katherine than me."

"And that's saying something." He nodded. "But why shouldn't she? I mean, I know she's been cursing you to the depths of hell but this couldn't be harmful to anyone! It's not like you'd gt anything from helping out. Would you?"

"I don't think so, but Stefan's filled her head with what an SOB I am so I doubt she'll think it through rationally."

"Isn't she mad at Stefan? And, in any case, try getting Stefan on your side!" he threw me a bored/annoyed look.

"And how the hell do you plan to do that?"

"You said you'd had a bonding time a few days ago! Have another one! Though, it'd be better if it was spontaneous. Planned bonding times don't usually work out." He laughed.

"And when are we going to talk about you?" I smiled guiltily. "I've told you enough. Now, give a little."

"Fine. Hit me." He smirked widely.

"Who would've known you were into kinky stuff." I scoffed.

"Bite me."(3) At that moment, his eyes darkened, and he leaned over to my ear.

"Just say where..." his voice was husky and his lips moist against my earlobe. I held back a gasp. But just barely. Then, our orders arrived.

"Enjoy." The waitress said, staring solely at Damon. But Damon was looking deep into my eyes.

"Oh, we will."

"Maybe I shouldn't have had that second milkshake." Damon chuckled with mirth as we exited the Grill a little passed midnight.

"You think?" I glared at him.

"Not because of the fat! If you haven't noticed already, I don't care about those things." Damon nodded with an amused look on his face.

"Yeah, I noticed alright."

"You do know that chocolate's an aphrodisiac right?" Damon's eyes darkened and he smirked.

"Well, in that case, I don't see any problem." I shivered, but rubbed my arms to pretend it was because of the cold. I still don't know if he fell for it or if he was playing along. Either way, he gathered me in his arms and nuzzled my neck, as he leaned against my car.

"You want me to warm you up?" I chuckled darkly, and nearly nodded. Nearly. And then, my phone started buzzing.

"Oh, fuck it!" I whispered. Still trapped in Damon's arms, I turned, facing away from him and looked at the caller ID. "Double fuck it."

"Your mom." It wasn't a question. I nodded, but answered anyway.

"What do you want now?" Damon held back a chuckle.

"I have decided." I waited for any other clue as to her latest insanity but apparently she was trying to make a dramatic announcement.

"Mom?"

"Oh, yes." The old mad-hatter was officially losing it. "I've decided I'll find you someone to marry before the season is over." At this point, I turned to Damon to see if he had heard her whacked answer. His face was contorted between horror and laughter.

"You'll do WHAT?!"

"I've come to the conclusion that this is the only way for you to come to terms with my unquestionable authority." I was somewhere between crying in frustration or laughing at the woman's sheer insanity. In the end, I simply sighed.

"Mom, tell you what, do what ever you want. It's not going to make any difference. Because believe it or not, you can't make me do anything anymore and it'll be hard as hell for you to find someone willing to get their child into an arranged marriage where you'll be the mother-in-law. So shut up and go ruin someone else's life."

"You're flippant comments won't deter me Sophia. I'll call you as soon as I find someone suitable."

"Bye!" I said in sarcastic chirpiness at the sound of my mother ending the call.

"You think she'll be able to find someone?" I groaned.

"I don't know. Politics is as unfathomable as my mother's whims sometimes. And my mother has been known for accomplishing the impossible. So, to answer your question Mr. Salvatore, I really don't know." He chuckled.

"Then we'll just have to be on the look out. I never really learned to share." He said with a smirk. I smiled. Those simple words had reassured me as little else could've. He wouldn't give up on me that easy. I turned back to face him, enjoying the safety of his arms.

"Thank you."

"For?" I could feel his lips against my hair.

"For driving away the monsters under my bed." Sometimes the most childish of references help convey one's meaning better than the most literate and schooled of speeches. From the way his arms tightened around my waist and back, and from the soft kiss he dropped on the top of my head, I knew he had understood.

"What else would you like to do?" I smiled, pulling away.

"Actually, I'm pretty sure that Elena's gonna be waiting up for me." He nodded.

"Well then, off we go." I stared at him.

"Haven't you got a car?"

"No, left it at home."

"You want me to drop you off?" he shook his head.

"Don't worry about me. I'll see you to your door."

"How gentlemanly sir, but I think you should be more worried than me. I've got a car, you don't."

"You never know what's lurking out in the night."

"Exactly."

"Which is why I'd like to see you safely home." I smirked.

"I'm a big girl remember?" he dragged his eyes all over me and nodded appreciatively.

"Oh I remember." I slapped his arm playfully.

"I can take care of myself."

"Perhaps, my little gypsy ninja, but allow me to wallow in worry. Now jump in the car and let's get you home." I smiled at the nickname.

I also knew I wouldn't convince him so I huffed, still smiling, and got in the car as he held open my door. Pushing it close, he went around and got in, strapping himself in.

"How long are you here for?" the question caught me off guard.

"What?" he turned away from the window to look at me.

"How long are you staying in Mystic Falls?"

"Oh. For about a month. Then I'm off to Greece to visit some family and from there... it's a mystery." I ended with a chuckle.

"A month?" I glanced over at him. Underneath the surprise, was just a hint of disappointment.

"If I stay any longer I risk my mother catching up with me. It's only a matter of time before she calls Jenna to check I'm not here. She's whacked, not stupid. And Jenna's not that great a liar either."

"But can't you stay in the States for a while longer? I get tired of this town every once in a while. Ever been on a road trip?" I laughed lightly.

"Actually, no I haven't."

"Well there you go! Can't leave this country without going on a road trip. Salvatore style, of course."

"Does it include a specially made map and choice music?" I asked with a smile.

"You've watched Elizabethtown one too many times." He said with a smirk. "A) I don't need a map and you'll be going with me so no need for one, special or otherwise." I pouted though I was cracking up on the inside. "B) Something tells me we have very different taste in music."

I finally laughed.

"Alright then, I'll stay for the road trip." Damon looked at me, frowning slightly.

"You are honestly scared of your mother finding you." Again, this wasn't a question. I only nodded. I hated admitting it, but with Damon everything seemed so easy. I didn't need to be the tough girl anymore. At this point, I pulled up at the Gilberts' drive way. Damon got me out of my seatbelt and pulled me onto his lap, holding me close. "Don't worry. I'll always be here to drive away the monsters from under your bed."

The care, the promise, the indiscernible something in his voice that swore to keep me safe brought tears to my eyes. Damon was looking more and more like a knight in shining armour than the big bad wolf Elena had painted him as. I always said I was strong, a big girl, that nothing could touch me. But the harsh words I had suffered from my mother throughout a not particularly happy childhood had dug deep scars into my heart and my mind wasn't as fortified as I made people believe. But when I looked into Damon's eyes, sitting on his lap in my car, desperately trying to hold in the tears of a ragged and seemingly distant childhood, I felt as if, one not so distant day I could be as strong as I wanted to be.

"Thank you." Was all I could manage, trying to wipe away the unshed tears.

"Hey. Don't shy away from me. I know everything about overbearing parents. My parents also wanted to marry me off to some unknown girl. Or at least they planned to. I did everything possible to make the girl hate me. In the end, her father called off the deal." I laughed, looking at him curiously. Now this I didn't know about.

"And your parents?"

"They moved to Italy with some family, but they died a while ago. We have little to no family left, Stefan and I."

"I'm sorry." He shrugged.

"It all seems so long ago now. What is it they say? Time's a great healer?" I nodded with a smile.

Suddenly, I saw a light turn on in one of the second floor windows. Thank what ever high power is up at this time of night for tinted windows.

"Uh oh. I told you she'd be waiting up." Damon smirked.

"And I remember I promised you a goodnight kiss." I smirked slightly.

"I believe you did."

The arm he had around my waist tightened its grasp and I was flush against him, straddling him. A hand behind my neck pulled me closer and suddenly, his lips were on mine. Soft, gentle, slightly cool lips that were making colourful lights blow up behind my closed eyelids. These weren't just fireworks. These were more like what ever the Weasley twins invented in the fifth Harry Potter movie(4). His tongue ran across my bottom lip and I gasped in response, allowing him the entrance he was demanding. I don't think I've ever been as lost in a kiss before. He ravaged my mouth to the last crevice. His hand had long left my waist and was leisurely exploring all there was to be explored. To say I was moaning would be a bit of an understatement.

The only reason why I pulled away from that safe yet mind-blowing haven was because I was about to turn blue. I gasped in a breath, trying to pull myself together and rearrange the clothes that had been crumpled. Thankfully I had already turned off the car and pulled the brakes. Who knows were we could've ended up in with the car still on? I chuckled.

"You need to go." He whispered. I stared. "I think I heard someone moving inside the house."

"Well that's one hell of a hearing Mr. Salvatore. But, just in case, I'll take your word for it." And with a shorter goodbye kiss, he helped me back to my seat on the driver's side and we both hopped out of the car. I grabbed my bag, locked my baby and went around it to the door. Swiftly, Damon pulled be back behind the car, away from the view of any window, trapped me between him and the side of the trunk and proceeded to kiss the living daylights out of me again.

"You're rather addictive you know?" he whispered against my lips as I gasped another breath. I giggled helplessly as he placed soft, open-mouthed kisses on my neck.

"It's the chocolate. Then again, I could say much more about you, Mr. Salvatore, but I don't want to waste time inflating an already too big ego." He pouted slightly, working his way back to my mouth.

"Sophie? What are you waiting for? Come on in!" Elena's voice from the front door made us jump. Damon dropped to a crouch, dragging me with him. I held in my laughter.

"Just picking up the keys I so stupidly dropped, E! I'll be right in."

"Well come on, I'm freezing." I thought she was exaggerating, it really wasn't as cold. But then again, I'd just been making out with the hottest guy on the face of the earth so she might've been right.

"Alright, got 'em." I dropped a short kiss on Damon's lips. "See you around."

"You can bet your cute little ass you will." He said with a smirk. I smirked as well then stood up and over to the door, keys in hand.

"Hi!" I said, giddy as hell.

"It's one in the morning, Sophie!"

"Exactly. Shouldn't you be asleep?" she huffed, letting me and leaving me to close the door as she walked back to her room.

"See you in the morning."

"Goodnight E." As I turned to close the door I could see Damon looking back at me from under a street light. He bowed with a smirk. I bowed back to him and blew him a kiss. He mimicked catching it and holding it to his heart. I tried not to laugh. I took one last look and closed the door. Now this is what I call a perfect evening.

The next morning, I woke up the giddiest I remember. And surprisingly early for having gone to bed at 1 in the morning. Draping on my robe, I made my way down to breakfast, where the rest of my house-mates (LOL) were getting fuelled to start the day.

"What's up with the silly smile?" Jenna smirked at me.

"Silly? More like completely idiotic!" I glared at Jeremy.

"Gee, thanks Jere, I know I can always count on you." He shrugged with a smile and carried on with his cereal.

"Can you please answer my question?" I smiled at Jenna.

"I just had a great night." Elena shook her head with a half-smirk.

"With Damon Salvatore?" Jenna gasped.

"Stefan's brother?"(5)

"Is there another one?" I asked sarcastically.

"God, let's hope not!" Jenna and I turned to look at Elena as if she had lost her mind.

"Yes let's hope so! I want one of those!" Jenna stated. Elena scoffed.

"Why is everyone so entranced by Damon Salvatore?!" Jenna and I shared a look.

"He's HOT!" we exclaimed.

"And a fantastic kisser." I added without thinking. So much for him being my 'dirty little secret'. Jenna turned to me with a squeal.

"No you didn't!"

"Yes I did!"

"Oh my GOD! What was it like?" I huffed.

"What part of fantastic didn't you get?" Jenna and I started squealing again.

"Wait, you kissed him?!" we turned to Elena.

"Yeah." I nodded in a 'duh' tone. "Well, technically, he kissed me, but who cares about technicalities?" I added smugly. Elena scoffed.

"You haven't known each other for more than 24 hours!"

"So?"

"SO, you should be taking this a bit more slowly!"

"Where's the fun in that?" she huffed.

"I just don't want you to get hurt." I looked at her.

"Relax, Lenny. I know how to take care of myself." Elena looked as if she had something to say about that, but for some reason held her tongue. "Can I have breakfast now?" she was about to nod, when someone knocked on the door.

"Jere, can you please take it? You're the only one who's dressed." With a good-natured sigh, Jeremy rose to open the door. I went over to get a cup of coffee when I heard Jeremy.

"Hi."

"Hey. Sophia up?" I smiled my stupid smile. How he knew I'd be up by now escaped me entirely. But before I could even get up, Elena was already at the door, dragging Damon out and shutting the door behind her. I groaned. I really didn't need mothering right now. I briskly walked towards the door and was out before Elena had finished her first sentence.

"-way from her!" I cleared my throat. She turned to me. "Get back in the house." I lifted an eyebrow.

"You really think that's gonna happen?"

"Sophia, you don't know him."

"Which is why I want to..." she glared. But I could see Damon's smile.

"You don't know what he's done. What he's like."

"He hasn't tried to kill me and if he does anything to hurt me in any way-"

"Which, won't happen." Damon put in at this point.

"I will kick his ass myself."

"And I will allow said ass to be kicked." I smiled at him.

"Can you please trust me on this one?" Elena was practically begging. I sighed.

"Lena, I do trust you. And you know it. But I also happen to trust him." The look on Damon's face told me that it had been ages since anyone had trusted him. "So could you please trust me on this one? You do trust my judgement, don't you?" Elena sighed this time.

"Yes, I do. But it'll take him a lot more than your judgement before I can either trust him or approve of this." I nodded.

"Fair enough. Now stop mothering me. You know, more than anyone, how I hate it." A small smile appeared in Elena's face.

"Ok. Sorry." I nodded. Then, not so subtly nudged at her to get her butt inside so I could talk to Damon. She nodded with a smiling huff. And after a small glare at Damon, she disappeared into the house and the door shut.

"Sorry about that." He shook his head.

"No problem. She's worried about you. I suppose that, given the reputation I've worked so hard for, I would be too." He said. There was something strange about his way of saying that. He was sarcastic and playful as he had been so far, but it was as if he was trying to make me understand that perhaps he wasn't to be trusted. 'Oh well, too late.' I thought.

"What are you doing here so early?" he smirked.

"Tired of me already?" I laughed.

"Oh, it's going to take a lot more than that for me to get tired of you." At this point, Damon leaned in close.

"Well, I don't know tired OF me, but I do know how you can be tired BECAUSE of me." I shivered as his breath hit my neck, chuckling.

"Patience is a virtue, Mr. Salvatore. But what do you propose for today?"

"Well, I got a kick out of watching you work out yesterday..." he left the phrase hanging in the air with a smug smile. I snorted softly.

"Not likely."

"Oh, well, you can't blame a guy for trying. But you are going to have to burn those chocolate milkshakes from last night at some point." I groaned.

"Ugh, wipe that smugness off your face. It's true but don't think I'm gonna let you catch me all sweaty again." he pouted. Adorably so. Innocently even.

"What's so wrong with sweaty?" he smirked. 'And there goes the innocence.' I gave him a look. "Alright, fine. What else do you like to do aside of stabbing air?"

"Ha, ha, ha. You are hilarious. Rib-cracking, to be sure." He gave me a wink.

"Of course I am. And on top of that, I'm downright sexy! A bonus is that I'm interested in what you want to do for today. So, what would you like to do?" I chuckled and thought a little.

"I really have no idea." He smiled.

"How about you give your camera a little more work? Get you re-acquainted with this quaint little town." I looked at him with a smile spreading across my face.

"That... would be perfect."

A/N: alright, I suppose I should begin with a huge apology to all my cherished readers for the terrible delay. In my defence, it was my 18th birthday and I went on a cruise with my family so... but that was only the last 11 days or so. The days before were still rather hectic so, many apologies. I hope this chapter makes up for it! Once again, reviews are love and this is your story so you have to tell me how it's going. I plan on skipping a week or so from now to the next chapter (speaking in story time) because it would be rather tedious if I took the time to tell about each and every day. This fanfic would never end. Literally. Anyways, thanks to this proposed little jump into the near future, some action will be coming up, albeit very little. But baby steps, people. And if you don't like it, you can still hit the review button and "yell" at me about it.

Thanks again and sorry for the delay!!!!

Toodles!

A simple calculation got me to this result: in the show they say Stefan's stuck at 17 and that, as a vamp, he's 162. 162-17= 145 my sweets! And then, they say Damon's 170. So 170-145=... yep! 25! Which coincides with the fact that he's supposed to go to college or has just left or something. You're all smart people. You get it. And even if it doesn't match up, it fits THIS story.

I hope nobody jumps up and says that vamps have cold skin on this one. Because Stefan specifically said that coffee warms them up. And if Damon is having ANOTHER cup of coffee, it means that Sophia feels no difference between her temperature and his. So nobody gets to flame me for this one.

Hehe, I just had to say that. It's a vamp fanfic. It has to be in there somewhere. You know how it is.

Let's face it: the Weasleys' fireworks kick any other firework's ass and, hence, are perfect to describe what it would feel like to have Damon Salvatore kiss you...*sigh*. *clears throat*, any way. Hope you like it!

Let's pretend Jenna does know Damon! That's what fan fiction's here for anyways...