"What do you mean, you were mistaken?" Damon yelled, furious. The human stared at him, terrified, "You said you saw her. You told me you saw her yesterday!" Damon stared at the idiot in front of him, who shook his head lamely.
He was a medium height teenage boy, still in High School. His name, Damon believed, was Matt Donovan. He was a football player, with fair skin, fair hair and light blue eyes. He seemed, to Damon, too nice. Damon didn't trust people who were too nice. His eyes were round, his palms raised, "I'm sorry!" he exclaimed, "I thought I saw her. I guess I was wrong." He grimaced at the taller, scarier guy. "I'm sorry, dude."
Damon's frown deepened, "Dude?" he scoffed, "Idiot." He released his hold on the front of the human's shirt and shoved him backwards. He rolled his eyes, "I guess someone got to you first." He said that to himself, and didn't bother explaining it when the human asked. "Fine, just leave, if you're determined to be utterly useless."
The human- still looking confused- shook his head as he left the Mystic Grill. He had already worked his shift, and had been in the process of leaving when he had been intercepted by the mysterious man. He grimaced; crazy guys, acting like I did something wrong.
Damon followed him outside, deciding that the whiskey back at the boarding house was better than the whiskey at the Grill. Matt was crossing the street, and he called out a girl's name, jogging to meet the blonde as she shut a garden gate with immense care. Damon, recognising her as the willing human blood bag, walked towards her as well. After discovering another dead lead, he could use some blood.
Caroline didn't see Damon- she saw Matt, "Hey, Matt," she smiled kindly, "Just finished work?" Matt was about to answer when Caroline noticed Damon. She paled considerably. "D-damon," She said, nodding in his direction.
"Hello Caroline," Damon said, smirking at the human girl.
Matt looked between them both, "Wait," he said dumbly, "You know him?" he asked Caroline the question, but as she stuttered, it was Damon who answered.
"Yes, idiot, she knows me." He rolled his eyes, "Now, get lost before I change my mind about not killing you." Matt stared at the guy, even more scared now. He hadn't been aware that the prospect of killing him had ever passed Damon's mind. He wasn't brave enough to risk his life, so he nodded to Caroline quickly, before heading off in the direction of home.
"Why don't you come to the Boarding house, Caroline? It's been a tough day, and I could use a drink." He smirked at her, letting her know that it was her blood on the menu.
She looked scared as she stumbled over her words, "I-uh, wh-why-what?" she looked dizzy; she felt dizzy. Damon reached out and placed a hand on her arm, stabilising her. He recognised her symptoms immediately; blood loss. He saw a set of messy bite marks on the human girl's neck, and frowned.
He had been under the impression that he was the only vampire she allowed to feed on her. he wasn't hurt by it; merely irritated. He didn't like to share; he was childish like that. "Who lives here, Caroline?"
Her eyes were round and alarmed. She was panicking, because Katherine had made it very clear that neither of the Salvatore brothers were to set foot inside the house. Katherine would be furious with Caroline if she knew that Damon was this close. She should lead him away.
She stepped closer to him, placing one of her small, delicate hands on his hip and pulling him closer and used her spare hand to guide his head so that his defined jaw hovered in the crook of her neck. "Drink," she suggested, her voice thin and wary. She felt his hand on the small of her back and almost felt smug- triumphant; she had won.
Except, she hadn't.
Damon whispered lowly in her ear, his breath cool and chilling on her skin, "Who lives here, Caroline?" his voice left no room for feigning ignorance, so, ducking her head and releasing him, she replied.
"A vampire," she shook her head, sending her blonde hair splaying over her shoulders, "I can't tell you any more than that." she hoped he would leave; take her to the Boarding house and forget that he had ever heard of the new vampire's presence in Mystic Falls. Damon, of course, hated to please people; he was stubborn, and immature. He would not drop this.
His eyes brightened immediately; a female vampire lived here- one who did not share her details. Damon tried to keep his hopes from getting too high; it would inevitably lead to them crashing hard when another lead came to nothing. Still, he kept some optimism as he turned and strode towards the house.
It was a white house with large, grand windows and a fine mahogany door. Damon stood outside and looked up at the house, imagining an eternally young woman inside. He couldn't picture Katherine in this age; he pictured the beautiful brunette who suffered with a corset and wore bonnets. He couldn't think of her as anything other than the refined princess who wasn't so refined, like all the other dull women he had known back in 1864. She had changed him in more ways than vampirism, and he still didn't know whether he should feel grateful or resentful about that.
Caroline had followed the dark haired vampire past the gate and to the door. He looked back at her; she was wearing a black skirt, ending halfway down her thighs, and a sleeveless pink blouse. Damon wondered what Katherine would look like dressed like that; did she wear those things? With a smirk, he thought that he would very much like to see Katherine if she did wear those things. He had been struck by Katherine's beauty in the days when it was improper to let you hair hit your shoulders- when she wore graceful, elegant gowns; Damon would be enthralled by the girl if she dressed like Caroline.
Shaking his head, he bore his sharp teeth at Caroline, releasing a feral snarl. Caroline gasped and jumped back, staring at him with new horror. Good, Damon thought, she was getting too comfortable. He frowned at her, "Who lives here, Caroline. Don't lie to me, Caroline- you won't like the consequences."
The girl bit her lip, wondering with consequence would be worse; Damon's or Katherine's. She looked at his dark eyes, and decided; Katherine. She shook her head quickly, "I can't tell you!" he groaned loudly, "Why does it matter anyway?" she was desperate to lure him away before the vampire girl inside got curious. Katherine had made it very clear that Damon and Stefan were not to know about Elena until she wanted them to.
"Hello?" a lonely voice fell on their ears, and Caroline, looking over Damon's shoulder, saw Elena standing in the open doorway, still dressed in a jade green gown. Her dark curls fell haphazardly across her shoulders, and something red stained her lips. Caroline thought, with vague disgust, that it was her blood staining the vampire's lips. "What's going on here?" She asked.
Caroline wanted to scream from frustration, because it wasn't Elena who would be punished for this; it was Caroline.
Damon turned slowly, recognising a voice he had not heard in a long, long time. He saw her, standing in the doorway; her eyes- a soft, deep brown- watched him with cautious care. Her dark hair was in curls, and he felt a pang in his chest. She hadn't changed. She was exactly as she had been when she vanished from his life. Her curls looked slept-in, and her green dress was one he could almost remember her wearing back in 1864.
His feet took him to her, and he watched her silently. He was terrified that this was just a dream to haunt him; to remind him of the love he had felt for the girl- a long, long time ago. He took her hand, stroking her pale skin as if it might break apart like crepe paper. "Katherine," he whispered, "Finally." He pulled her gently by her hand out of the shade of the door, and she fell clumsily into his arms.
For a second, everything was perfect; this was what he had been waiting- searching for. But the second- like every second- ended, and the brunette vampire let out a shriek of pain, collapsing immediately against Damon. She was whimpering, sobbing, when Damon- in a panic- finally lifted her face to look at her expression. He noticed then, that her skin was sizzling, turning pink and burning. The sun, he realised with a start, it's burning her.
Damon wasted no more time, and pushed her back into the shade of the front porch. He set her down on the ground, resting her back against the doorframe. She seemed to instantly relax- as did Damon.
"Katherine, I'm so sorry. I thought you had a ring." He frowned at her, "What happened to your ring?" she didn't reply, so he stroked her cheek lightly, "Talk to me, Katherine."
She frowned at the dark haired young man, still feeling drowsy from the relief of the shade. She shook her head lightly, her dark eyes confused as she watched him. "I'm not Katherine." She told him, her voice quiet. He was very handsome, she couldn't help but notice. "My name… is Elena…" she felt rather awkward- as if she was a disappointment and an anti-climax; and she wasn't sure whether to be annoyed or sorry; she settled for confused.
Damon's eyebrows furrowed in confusion, and then his face fell completely. He looked drained- exhausted. "Of course you're not." He said, sounding angry, "God forbid I get what I want for once." He stood from where he had been crouching next to her.
Her eyes widened, "Oh, I'm sorry." She drawled, sarcastically, "I am so dreadfully sorry that I am not a different person. It isn't exactly my choice, you foul man." She tried to pick herself up, but her body still ached, so she remained on the floor just outside of Katherine's house. "It's not like you just burned me or anything. You know, an apology would not go amiss." She scowled at him. Handsome boys, she remembered from some past experience that refused to return to her completely, were always more trouble than they were worth. She crossed her arms, stubbornly ignoring his- now intrigued- gaze.
"Elena…" he mused, as if he were trying to remember something, "Elena… Elena…" suddenly, his eyes lit up and he looked at her, startled, "Elena Gilbert!" he exclaimed, "I never thought I would be seeing you again!" his hands fell quickly to her waist, and he pulled her upwards in a second, spinning her around while his arms held her waist against his. Her arms flung up around his neck and she yelped loudly.
Damon almost threw her back into the shade, "Sorry, I forgot." He grimaced as her scorched face returned to its natural, fair shade. She frowned at him again, her eyed narrowed as she straightened out her dress. His grimace collapsed back into a grin almost immediately.
Caroline watched the scene as it played out, caught between bemusement and fear. Katherine will not like this at all.
A/N: Hi… sorry this took me so long. I couldn't get it right, and then I didn't want it to be too short either.
Please review!
Love Kate, xxx