Chapter 23
Volunteered
I let out a groan as my alarm went off, reaching my hand out blindly, accidently knocking it off of the nightstand.
"Great…" I groaned, the constant ringing becoming a particular annoyance.
Sadly, I found myself unable to get up and turn it off, Damon's arms wrapped firmly around my waist. He was still asleep.
"Damon, time to get up," I told him, but he didn't move. "Damon," I tried again.
"I don't wanna," he whined, pulling me closer as he buried his face in my neck, hiding from the faint layer of light that fell into the room.
"Damon, I have to get up and go to work," I told him, trying to tug myself from his grip. "And you've got a meeting with Liz and John," I reminded him.
"Even more reason to stay in bed."
"Come on," I groaned, managing to turn around in his grip.
I was facing him now, our noses practically touching, his breath brushing my lips.
"Damon, I need to get up," I told him, staring him in the eyes.
"And I don't care," he replied, trying to go back to sleep, his leg deliberately moving and twisting around mine.
"Damon…" I groaned, pushing against his chest.
It did me little good though, his grip unyielding. I realized that I'd have to go about things a bit differently if I wanted to get up.
"I have to pee," I told him.
"Then hold it," he mumbled.
"I'll pee on you," I threatened.
"No you won't," he told me.
"And why wouldn't I?" I asked, raising an eyebrow in question.
"One, it would soak into the bed. Two, I'd have to bite you," he pointed out.
"Damn it!" I hissed, earning a chuckle in return.
"And don't even think about threatening to kick me out," he said pointedly. "I've got the spare key."
I rolled my eyes at his comment, letting out a sigh. If he wanted play, then I'd play back.
"What are you doing?" he asked quietly, feeling my hand run over his chest and down his side.
I made sure to be as gentle as possible, earning a faint shiver from him.
"Shh…" I hushed, pressing a finger to his lips.
I could feel his grip loosening a bit as I pressed my lips to his, pressing my body against his, my hand on his cheek. He let out a faint groan in response, kissing back fervently. Once I felt his grip loosen enough though, I pulled back, kissing him on the cheek.
"Gotta get ready," I told him, hopping out of bed and avoiding his attempts to grab me.
"Tease," he narrowed, glaring playfully at me as I pulled my clothes from the dresser, turning my alarm off. "Just you wait, I'll get you back and you'll be sorry," he told me.
"Yeah, sure," I nodded, not believing a single word. "Get dressed," I told him, tossing a pair of his jeans at him.
He caught them easily, climbing out of bed and stripping off his flannels, leaving him in his underwear.
"Do you mind?" he asked, tilting his head to the side, a teasing look on his face.
"Like it would really stop you," I scoffed, shaking my head.
"Nope, not really," he chuckled.
"I swear, the only thing you haven't done yet is walk around naked," I muttered, regretting my words a moment later.
"Getting ideas are we?" he asked, wiggling his eyebrows at me. "You know, I could always…" he pulled at the waistband a bit, threatening to tug them off as one side slid down the hip by an inch.
"Don't you dare," I warned.
"Aw, why not?" he whined, stepping toward me until my back was pressing against the dresser.
"Because I said so," I replied.
He just grinned, grabbing me and tossing me onto the bed, using his speed to pin me down a second later.
"Damon," I breathed warily, watching as he hovered over me, that stupid grin plastered on his face.
"Hmm, I kind of like this position," he grinned. "Maybe with less clothes, but still."
As a result, I tried kicking at him, only to have him catch my leg in his hand. I groaned as he gave it a light squeeze, reminding me who was stronger between the two of us.
"I hate you," I narrowed.
"You love me," he grinned, inclining his head, our noses brushing.
He pressed his lips to mine a moment later, his tongue sliding over my bottom lip, teeth tugging lightly at the skin.
"Damon," I groaned, feeling my face heat up.
I hated it when he did that to me.
T
"Ah, Kali, there you are," I turned around to find Mr. Lockwood standing in the doorway of my classroom, a binder under his arm.
"Mr. Lockwood, good morning sir," I greeted. "Can I help you with something?" I asked.
"Yes," he nodded, stepping inside. "John said that you were willing to help with the competition this year," he told me, catching me off guard.
"Oh, uh, yeah," I nodded, trying my best to hide my irritation.
I knew exactly what John was doing. Once again, he was trying to piss me off. Sadly, I knew that I couldn't say no to Mr. Lockwood. If I did, I knew that John would threaten me again, possibly even Damon.
"Oh, good," he smiled. "Now, I was wondering if you could help with the design of things?"
"Yeah, sure," I nodded. "Um, can you give me just one moment? I promised someone that I'd give them a call before work."
"Of course," he nodded, laying the binder out on my desk.
With that, I walked out of the room, stepping out into the hallway and outside. I didn't want to take any chances. So, pulling out my phone I called Damon, pressing 3 on speed dial and placing it against my ear. After about the second ring he finally picked up.
"Hello my love," he practically sang. "I was just about ready to walk inside."
"Yes, well, I just figured I'd let you know that John decided to pull a fast one," I told him, biting my tongue as best I could.
"What's going on?" he asked, his voice turning serious.
"Well, apparently, he volunteered me for head of the design committee," I ground out.
"How lovely," he replied sarcastically.
"And if I don't do it, I can only imagine what he'll do," I pointed out in annoyance. "Look, I gotta go," I sighed.
"Aw, not kiss?" he chuckled.
"Yeah, you'd like that, wouldn't you?" I said, rolling my eyes. "Do me a favor though?" I asked.
"Sure, why not?"
"Be as rude as Damonly possible."
T
"Liz, how are you?" Damon greeted, walking inside.
He made sure to place his phone in his pocket, trying his best not to grin at what Kali had told him to do. Rather, it was what she gave him permission to do, something that he would gladly pursue at this point.
"I could be better," she replied, glancing over toward John.
The man in question was fixing himself a drink, pouring a nicely colored liquor into his glass.
"There was a disturbance at the hospital blood bank last night. Some of the supply was compromised," she explained, catching his attention.
"Compromised? You mean stolen?" he concluded, his arms folded over his chest.
"We almost missed it. The inventory records were altered, but when the night manager was questioned he had no recollection of changing them."
"Meaning that the vampire who stole the blood used mind control to hide the theft," John elaborated.
"I know what you mean," Damon said flatly, slightly annoyed.
"We wouldn't have noticed had John not alerted us to recent discrepancies in other hospital blood banks in the county," Liz said to Damon, glancing over at John for a moment as she spoke.
"How lucky for us, we have John," Damon said with dry sarcasm as he looked over at John.
Said Gilbert merely watched Damon without a word, a small smirk forming on his face as he took a drink from his glass. Damon gave him a bit of a snarky smile though, before turning back to Liz, listing to her as she spoke.
"We're stepping up security at the hospital, giving the guards vervain to prevent this from happening again," Liz told him, watching a Damon gave her a small nod in acknowledgement.
"Sheriff, might I offer a suggestion?" John asked, stepping toward them and close to Damon. "Why don't Damon and I put our heads together? We can track down whoever is doing this," he told her, watching as Damon eyed him closely.
John knew as well as any that Damon wanted nothing to do with him. This would merely be a way to get under his skin and keep tabs on him.
"Truthfully I can use the extra hands," Liz admitted, before looking back toward Damon.
It'd have to be his choice whether or not he'd want to work with John or not. After all, she'd made it clear to him that she thought John was an asshole when the man had come into town.
"Is that something you would be willing to do?" she asked him, watching as he hesitated for a moment.
"Well, of course, I mean if it'll help," Damon said.
Even though he didn't really feel like working with John, he'd put up with him, possibly use it to his advantage. There were many ways that Damon could turn this around on John and make things difficult. After all, it was Damon's specialty.
"I think we could make a good team, don't you think Damon?" John asked.
Damon had to bite his tongue for a moment, his lips thinning as he drew in a breath before speaking.
"John, whatever I can do to help keep this town safe; even if it means spending time with you," he told him, tone dry though full of hidden sarcasm.
For a moment, they smiled at each other, Damon gritting his teeth. He'd make his job hell and he'd do it without consequence since Kali gave him permission. Yes, he'd make John's time here a living hell.
T
"Alright, class, today we are going to be looking over some of the art inspired by Founder's Day," I announced, turning on the projector. "We're also going to be attempting to replicate some of it."
I heard a few groans as I said this, a small smile pulling onto my lips.
"Come on guys, its not that bad," I told them, placing my hands on my hips. "Or would you rather do a six page paper on how it was inspired?" I asked, grinned when I hear the large number of no's. "Good because I didn't want to have to grade them either."
T
Sipping at his coffee, Damon sat in the dining room, chair leaned back. As much as he wanted to, he couldn't go back to the apartment at the moment. If John decided showing up, he wanted it to be at the house sadly enough. He wasn't sure if John was aware that Damon and Kali were technically living together or not, but he didn't want the man anywhere near the apartment. In fact, he'd probably kill him if he ever came near it while Damon was there with Kali. Kali had enough to deal with, she didn't need John there tormenting them while she was at home.
"I can't believe I agreed to work with the bastard," Damon grumbled, taking another drink.
A moment later, he heard the door bell ringing, sitting his cup of coffee down and getting up. When he opened the door he was met with Anna, his eyes narrowing.
"I suppose I should be grateful, you learned how to use the bell," he said dryly, his snarky attitude bleeding through as he leaned against the now open door.
"I'm here on behalf of my mother," she told him, walking inside the house after Damon moved out of the way.
"On behalf of or in spite of?" Damon asked curtly, already being put in a bad mood as he walked back into the dining room for his cup.
"I'm sorry about what the other vampires did to Stefan. Abducting him, torturing him… It wasn't supposed to go down like that," Anna told him, following after him.
She knew that what the others had done was wrong, but she and her mother hadn't been the ones doing it. After all, her mother had kicked them all out afterward, save for Harper.
"You're playing house with half of a tomb of really pissed off vampires. What do you think was going to happen?" Damon practically hissed. "Not to mention, Kali nearly got killed no thanks to your little group of house pets," he said in annoyance.
"Hey, that wasn't my fault," she told him. "My mom is devastated; they tried to over throw her."
"Why isn't she here telling me this?" he asked, drinking from his cup.
He was trying to keep his calm, thinking about Kali for a moment. He could picture her elbowing him like she normally did when he said something snarky that he shouldn't to someone or when he was being rude in general when he shouldn't.
"She doesn't really do apologies," Anna said simply, running her hand over the cherry wood table, the finish smooth beneath her fingers.
"Well, it's a coincidence, 'cause I don't do forgiveness. Especially, when people threaten what's mine," he said pointedly, before moving closer to her. "So, just run along. And if you're going continue playing house with these little vampire pets of yours, you might wanna stop robbing the blood bank dry because they're onto it," he said in exasperation.
A look of confusion spread across Anna's face at his words, brows furrowing.
"I haven't been to the local blood bank in at least a week," she told him.
"Then it's one of your others," he said smoothly.
"The others are gone Damon," she replied.
Damon's face scrunched up in annoyance for a moment before he spoke. He was getting irritated because he was being led to a dead end.
"Well, where'd they go?" he asked.
Anna nearly laughed at him for asking such a thing, shaking her head. Unbelievable.
"They weren't cut out for this town. After what happened with your brother my mom kicked them out and they took off. It's just us and Harper now," she admitted.
As Damon took this information in, his brows furrowed slightly. The others had left and Pearl wouldn't risk anything else happening. The only one left was, well, Stefan. That's when realization hit, lip twitching slightly. Stefan. He couldn't believe it.
T
I let out a tired sighed as I leaned back in my chair. It'd been a long day and I was still left looking over some of the design material that Mr. Lockwood had given me. It was for the Miss Mystic Falls pageant. It was all being held at the Founder's hall, so there was a lot to go over. Sadly, I'd probably have to go over there to do some of the drawings for it, only having the pictures that had been taken for me in front of me on the desk. I was still able to use these though, pulling out a few sheets of paper and sketching the foundations. I knew that Carol would want it to be elegant, but still simple, not too overdone. She wanted the attention to be on the girls that were participating, not the scenery.
I only looked up from my work when I heard the sound of footsteps entering my classroom, looking over and finding Jeremy standing there.
"Oh, hey, Jeremy," I greeted, a smile pulling onto my lips.
"Hey, uh, can we talk?" he asked, looking around for a moment.
"Well, that depends on what it's about," I told him, looking down at my work as I went through a couple more photos. "I'm afraid that your Uncle John has left me rather busy when he volunteered me for design committee," I told him, annoyance obvious in my voice.
"Oh…" he breathed out, rubbing the back of his neck.
"You know what, forget it," I told him, pushing my work out of the way. "Sit down and we'll talk," I told him, watching as he took a seat.
He became nervous though as if unsure of what to say now. I mean, he'd come here to talk to me about something after all, so why wasn't he talking? I mean, it seemed important.
"I just…" he paused for a moment, just sitting there. "How are things with you and Damon?" he asked suddenly.
I was sure that it wasn't what he'd originally intended on asking me, but I'd still answer regardless.
"They've been pretty good for the most part," I admitted, thinking back to this morning. "He likes playing tricks on me though," I told him, folding my arms over my chest.
"I thought that was my job," he whined.
"Oh, it is, but apparently, he gets a kick out of doing it so I've no say in the matter," I shrugged, before looking straight at him. "Now, what did you really want to ask me?" I inquired.
"Well…how much do you really know about Damon?" he questioned, causing my brows to furrow in confusion.
"Jeremy, what are you getting at?" I asked, giving him a curious look.
"I mean, he's only been in town for a few months. How much can you really know about him?" he asked.
"Well, I… I know he wouldn't do anything to hurt me," I told him, watching him carefully for a moment. "He's been helping me out with a lot of stuff too," I explained, still wondering why he was asking such things all of a sudden. "Seriously though, Jer, what's going on?"
"It's nothing," he said, shaking his head, before getting up. "Look, I should get going. I'll see you later," he told me, before walking out of the room, his bag in hand.
"Jeremy, wait!" I called, but it was no use, he was already gone. "Dang it," I groaned, falling back into my chair.
It seemed as though this long day was merely growing longer.
T
A faint grin spread across Damon's face as he heard Stefan enter the house, slowly making his way toward him. He didn't say a word though until his brother had placed his bag down on a chair, walking down the hallway.
"How was school?" Damon asked, a pleasant look on his face as he popped his head in casually, causing Stefan to turn around.
It was obvious that Stefan wasn't expecting Damon to be there.
"Fine," Stefan answered, turning back around.
"Yeah?" Damon asked. "Same old, same old? Nothing new? No stories to bring home?"
"You're making small talk, why?" Stefan asked, picking up on Damon's intentions. "I mean, shouldn't you be back over at your place?"
"You seem awfully chipper lately," Damon commented, ignoring Stefan's little question about the apartment. "Less doom and gloom, a little more pep in your step," he said, making a teasing gesture as he nearly jogged in place for emphasis.
"And you think it's because I drank human blood again," Stefan deduced.
"I mean, I don't wanna brag, but I would definitely take responsibility for this new and improved you," Damon grinned, attempting to bait him if possible.
"Well, uh, I hate to burst your bubble, but I'm clean," Stefan told him, clapping him on the shoulder.
"Yeah, not possible," Damon sang doubtfully.
He'd been away from the human stuff for far too long. It wasn't possible for him to be back off of it again so soon.
"Not only is it possible, but its quite true," Stefan told him.
Damon gave him a humorous smile in return. He knew better. Not to mention, Stefan was being far too tolerable of Damon's suspicions.
"Stefan, let's be serious here for a second," Damon told him, slowly making his way toward him. "You spent the last century and a half being a poster child for Prozac and now you expect me to believe that this new you has nothing to do with human blood. Nothing," Damon said, the last word nearly coming out in a whisper as Stefan shrugged, a smile on his face.
"I'm clean," Stefan replied, before walking off.
"You're lying!" Damon said in disbelief.
"Believe what you want," Stefan said simply, leaving Damon standing there suspicious.
T
"Damon, where are you?" I sighed, laying back on the couch, the cushions molding around me.
I hadn't heard a word from him since this morning and at the moment, I was at my wits end. Mr. Lockwood had given me even more stuff and it was driving me up a wall. I mean, it's not likely I didn't have other stuff to do at the moment.
"I swear, I'm gonna kill him!" I groaned, referring to John.
The bastard had given me so much crap to deal with. It was already bad enough that I had project summaries to grade and mark off. That's why I was left wishing for Damon's presence. At least then, he might be able to help me with some of the grading so that I could get the design work done. It didn't help either that it was practically last minute. Heck, I still had lesson plans to make for next week.
Leaning forward, I looked over the drawings and set up designs for the layout, running a hand through my hair. My hand shook a bit, but I brushed it off. I was tired, so it was to be expected.
"Alright, silk ribbons on the banister and stairwell," I mused, the pencil in my hand flicking lightly across the paper.
I drew the necessary lines for the stairs and pillars, decorating them. I etched in a slightly wiry wrap around ivy for the pillars, before going over ideas for the flower arrangements.
"I need coffee," I sighed.
T
Two hours later found Damon back at the apartment climbing the stairs. At the moment, he was beside himself. Stefan was hording stolen blood in the basement and the vampire patrol was back on duty. Could things get any worse?
He just shook his head as he pulled out his key, sliding it into the lock and turning it. The sound of the lock clicking open met his ears as he turned the handle and pushed the door open. He then walked inside, closing the door behind him.
"Kali, we need to talk, Stefan…" Damon paused when he saw her laying on the couch, eyes closed and asleep.
She had papers and drawings scattering on top of the coffee table that they'd added a couple weeks back. There were also flower and fabric samples laying about as well.
"I should have known," he sighed, sliding the lock over on the door.
He then walked over to her, kneeling down, and carefully prying the empty cup she was holding from her hand. He set it down on the table. After that, he got ready to pick her up, but stopped for a moment. Slowly, he reached his hand out, running the back of his fingers against the side of her face. She looked so peaceful when she was asleep, not a care in the world.
Damon slipped his hands underneath her after a few moments, carefully raising her from the couch. She was light in his arms, even as he carried her down the hall and into their room.
Damon paused for a moment. Their room? When was it that it had actually come to be their room?
He shook his head, pushing open the door and walking over to the bed. That's when it would have become tricky had he been human. Since he wasn't human though, he had enough strength to hold her with one arm, pulling back the sheets. He easily laid her down on the bed, pulling her shoes from her feet and placing them on the floor. She looked exhausted, but still so peaceful as she slept. It was almost like an angel in his mind, one of those beautifully painted woman that you found in story books.
"Why is it so cold in here?" he asked, looking around.
He found the window had been left open. He figured that she must have done it in an attempt to keep herself awake. He closed it though, removing his jacket and placing it on the back of the chair. He was actually disappointed that she was asleep. He'd hoped to talk to her about Stefan, getting everything off his chest. Sadly, he knew that he couldn't be doing it tonight though, pulling his own shoes off along with his shirt. He then crawled into bed beside her, the mattress moving underneath him, wrapping his arms around her. It felt nice having her in his arms, the warmth of her body soaking into his bare skin.
"Next time, you better be awake," he whispered, gently kissing her cheek, arms pulling her close.
Next time, he wouldn't be so late. Next time, he'd get his time to talk.
Hey guys, sorry for taking so long. I've been trying to get a bunch of stuff done recently along with getting a few medical tests done. Anyway, this chapter is finished. I know what you're thinking, "Man, this is only part of the episode! Why'd she stop?" Well, to answer your question, I thought it was only fair to put out what I had so far that way at least you'd have a bit of entertainment. I'm beginning the writing for the rest which will be teh actual day of the pageant. That means... if ANYONE has ANY ideas or wants to see something in particular, LET ME KNOW. Who knows, I might get done with the next chapter today. I still need INSPIRATION people!
REVIEW AND MESSAGE ME! I need ideas, even if it's not for this episode, but the following one even.
Let me know what you think everyone. Also, does anyone have any song ideas I can use?
Also, I want to thank everyone that reviewed the last time. CrissYami, SomebodyWhoCares, Kira Tsumi, Katerina The Von, IvyLinkin, Nymartian, AudreyDarke96, and KimmyWSmith! Thanks guys!