Disclaimer! I do not own the Vampire Diaries or any of its characters, as much as I would LOVE to. But Alex and her story are mine. Please don't 'borrow' her! Thanks for reading! ^^
By the time Stefan had something in the oven, I was beginning to wish that I could have feigned illness and hidden in my room. Not only was it disconcerting to see him wearing an apron, a sight of which I never needed in this or any other life time, but I was having serious conflicts at the moment. Why? That food smelled amazing. Mouthwatering, stomach rumbling, five star chef amazing. It was ridiculous that when at the moment I should be worried about the two vampires in my kitchen who had known me in a past life, I was more concerned with the chicken broiling in the oven.
I needed to work on my priorities.
Of course, it could only going to get worse.
"Stefan, you still running to grab that wine?" Damon asked from his place at the sink where he was slicing various vegetables. My eyes had landed on the knife in his hands several times in the last minute. He was a vampire, he didn't need a knife. But it still had me on edge. Not surprising, this entire freaking fiasco had me on edge.
"Right. I'll be right back. Alex, can you take the desert?" Stefan turned to me, smiling again. I wish I could wipe the smile off his face. Because of course, that would leave me alone with Damon.
"Of course I can." Another far too cheery grin accented my answer. The younger of the two Salvatores nodded and left the kitchen, leaving me alone with Damon and a bowl of strawberries that needed sliced. Instantly an awkward silence fell, the only sound coming from the antique ceiling fan churning the humid Virginian air with a rhythmic wheezing. Glancing at Damon, I found a paring knife and picked up the bowl of strawberries. "Excuse me." I muttered, attempting to gain access to the sink.
Damon refused to move, surprise surprise. He turned his eyes on me, a smirk on his lips. Cheekily he cocked his head to one side and gave me a long look. "You don't seem to like me." He summarized breezily.
"I don't? Sorry, I left my Team Damon t-shirt in Ireland." I replied, nudging him away from the sink and turning the faucet up as high as possible. The water's hissing bought me a few seconds from conversation as I rinsed the berries. They were bright against the stainless steel of the sink, for a moment they looked like a scarlet stain against the sink. How ominous. I did not need an ominous sign at the moment, thank you Universe.
The second the sink was off, Damon started speaking again. He never used to talk this much. Did immortality make for the inability to shut up? "Why is that? I mean the not liking me part. I can find you another t-shirt easy enough." The last part was accented with yet another cocky smile.
Muttering a few swear choice Celtic swears beneath my breath that I know he would hear but would not understand, I moved the fruit to the island and began to systematically slice them. "I never said I didn't like you." Slice.
"Ah, but you don't have to say anything. Most women faint at the sight of me. You have yet to so much as blush." Damon quipped. Slice.
"I'm not most women." I retorted, throwing a few cut berries back into the bowl. Slice. Slice. Slice. What's this, silence from the god of sarcasm? I must write this down. Slice. I had nearly finished my work when he finally did speak again, something soft and dangerous in his words.
"No. That you aren't."
I froze, knife hovering over the final strawberry. Was there a glimmer of understanding in that sentence? Why did it partly seem to be a threat? I glanced up and saw him watching me, glass eyes dark and hooded. Better question, why wouldn't it be a threat? The cold feeling returned. Hastily I glanced away and cleared my throat. Slice. I won't lie. My hands were shaking as I scraped the remainder of the strawberries into the bowl and I was lucky not to drop it. For a moment I was loathe to put the knife away, but I did so, brushing past Damon to drop it in the sink. He didn't make another sound until I was halfway towards the dining room. "Alex."
Turning back, I knew that a long time ago I would have liked to see him in my house, arms crossed and a curious expression on his face. It would have been a game then, a tease and nothing more. Not the serious challenge that glinted in his eyes, and not with the fear settling at the base of my skull. "Yeah?" My voice sounded normal, and I fervently thanked whatever gods were listening for that small gift.
"Your name. Is it short for Alexandria?" He asked it so offhandedly, and yet his eyes sharpened to daggers. I shivered on the inside. Ice did not cover the frigid cold running through my veins. I met those eyes with innocence playing in my own. No, ice did not cover it at all.
I tilted my head to the side and smiled slow and flirtatious, hating every minute of it. "Yeah, it is. But that's a mouthful. Let's stick to calling me Alex." And with that I turned on my heel, sashaying off as if I gave a damn about whether he was watching me walk away.
Thus the plot begins to thicken!
If you have ideas for the next few chapters, PM me! I'd like to get some input on this
Also, it was asked that I give a bit of my Playlist for these guys away. I've decided I'll do this for every chapter, so here's the first!
Theme Songs:
"Fire" by Lacuna Coil (main part of the entire chapter)
"Hanging On" by Ellie Goulding ft. Tinie Tempah (subtle romantic avenues and tension)