Four: Tea

Brooklyn

10 am

They didn't wake up until late the next morning. They had tumbled into bed in the early hours of the morning and still lay together, their limbs tangled.

Damon woke first. He was careful to not move too much, as Effy lay with her head on his chest, her chestnut curls sprawled across his pale skin.

To him, it looked right. It felt normal.

For the first time in years- maybe decades- he smiled a genuine smile. And then, after checking Effy was still sound asleep, he allowed memories to seep through his brain.

He remembered Elena; he remembered her the way he loved her the most: as a sweet, innocent human. She was beautiful in his mind. She was laughing and smiling; her eyes were open with honesty and naivety. The way she could of continued to be if he and Stefan hadn't intervened. But then the image turned nasty; he remembered locking her away to force her to find her humanity, he remembered the intensely dead emotion in her eyes as Jeremy died... a sharp pain stabbed at his chest. That was his fault, or was it? Maybe it was in Elena's fate all along...

Now his mind was open, everything came back.

Alaric his best friend, drinking bourbon by his side...

Rose leaning into his chest as she took her last breath...

Caroline in his bed, that green scarf wrapped round her neck to hide the bite marks he had made... then later, her becoming one of the strongest vampires he had ever met...

And lastly, Stefan. His little brother's heart broke because of him, because of his selfish nature. He wondered idly where his brother was hiding now, wrapped up in the world of brooding and weakness.

Besides him, Effy began to wake. She made little purring sounds as she woke, mumbling about needing a drink.

"Good morning," he whispered gently.

"Hi," she smiled and stretched.

She rolled away from him and sat up, pulling her oversized t-shirt over her slender body. Damon felt a frown light up his features; a stab of jealousy hit his heart. Jealousy... that was something he hadn't felt in a very long time. He didn't like Effy wearing some other boy's shirt; she should be wearing his shirt and only his.

"Urg, I need a drink." She groaned.

"It's a little early to be drinking Eff," Damon replied with a laugh.

Effy froze. Something in his voice, in his tone, reminded her so much of Freddie... she recovered quickly and laughed along with him.

"No, I mean a normal drink. A cup of tea would be perfect."

Damon grimaced. "How can you like that stuff? It looks like dirty dish water."

Effy rolled her eyes. "Not real English tea."

He followed her into the kitchen and watched as she showed him how to make 'real English tea', in her words. After five minutes, she held out a steaming mug for him.

"Try it," she demanded.

She was small, she was cute, but dear god she had a temper on her.

He took a wary sip, his eyes locked with hers. The liquid was warm, sweet, and surprisingly nice. But it only ignited Damon's real hunger; he realised suddenly he needed blood. He needed it soon.

"Hm, not too bad..."

Effy laughed. "Yeah, you love it really!"

He grinned, although it seemed more like a grimace through his intense hunger. "I know this seems really shitty, but I need to go. I have something I need to pick up... I could meet you tonight though?"

Effy narrowed her ice blue eyes, trying to decipher the truth. To her surprise she was met with Damon's openly honest features.

"Sure, I need to sort some stuff out anyway. I'll see you tonight."

Damon walked at a normal pace until he was safely away from watching eyes. Then he let his instincts take over. He found himself in Soho, a small estate run by drug addicts and prostitutes. Nobody would notice if they vanished suddenly.

He strolled through the rubbish filled streets, looking out for easy prey. He found it quickly; a red haired girl stood on a street corner, wobbling in her heels with dark circles under her eyes.

"Hello darling," Damon drawled, turning on his charm easily.

The girl looked up at him, her dark eyes completely spaced out. "Hi."

"Want to come with me?"

She nodded and took his hand.

But as they walked away, Damon had the intense feeling that he was being watched.

a/n: so so so so sorry for the longest delay EVER. I've had so much to do and the worst writers block. But I'm back, and already writing the next chapter!