The next day, we make our way down to Georgia, heading straight into Atlanta. I've never lived in or even visited a big city, so I want to see all that it has to offer. We walk through the city, stopping at parks and museums, taking our time in the summer heat. When the sun starts to sink lower in the sky, Damon pulls me back to car.

"I don't understand, why are we leaving so soon?"

"I have something to show you. I think you're going to love it."

I don't fight him on it. He's probably right. We get out of the city quickly and the landscape gets greener as we rush by. Eventually I see it looming in front of me, not quite a mountain, but big enough to fill most of the horizon.

"What is this?"

"Stone Mountain," he says with a small smile. He looks at me, gauging my reaction. When it's pretty clear I don't understand the significance of it, he explains, "It's kind of cheesy, but they put on a pretty amazing laser show here against the mountain. If you're ok with it, I thought we could camp out here, too."

"Wow, Damon. Two days into the trip and you've already got some master plan going. I have to say, I'm impressed."

"Oh, just you wait," he smirks at me.

We pull into the park and quickly find a space to set up a blanket and picnic he managed to put together. I'm not exactly sure how he did it, considering we've been together for two days and haven't been apart for more than ten minutes. I wouldn't put anything past him, though.

After we set up our spot, he asks if I want to walk around a bit before the show starts. We make our way through families talking and kids playing tag, sidestepping blankets and crawling babies. It's weird to experience a scene so normal when the past few years of my life has been anything but. The crowd gets thicker as we walk, and soon there are people all around me.

A soccer ball shoots in front of my feet and I trip over it, nearly slamming into a man walking in front of me. He whips around and pins me with a look of rage.

"Hey, watch yourself!"

Damon is instantly beside me, supporting my weight and making sure I'm standing and in one piece.

"Oh my gosh, I'm so sorry! I tripped," I manage to choke out an apology, though I'm completely embarrassed and a little thrown off by how angry he is.

"Stupid kid. Stay the hell out of the way!" He practically spits at me.

Damon steps in front of me, seeming totally unfazed by this guy yelling in my face.

"Ok, ok. Isn't this a little over the top? She tripped, she apologized, we're moving along."

"Look, I don't give a crap if your girlfriend meant to or not, I don't like people in my space!" The guy is practically screaming now, and I can't understand why it's such a big deal.

Suddenly, Damon takes him by the collar and lifts him up, getting in his face. I move around to Damon's side, trying to stop him from doing something stupid. I see the ripple of veins underneath his eyes and know that he is dangerously close to doing exactly that. The guy looks terrified now, and I know Damon has made his point. I also know that Damon likes to be very sure that his point has been made. He won't back down yet.

"Look, I'm sure that on a good day, you're a nice guy. For whatever reason, you don't seem to understand what I said. This is over. You're going to calm yourself, walk away, and forget that this ever happened. Understand?"

"Sure, I'm just going to walk away," the guy repeats with glazed eyes. As much as I wanted him to calm down, I hate seeing people compelled. I hate the thought of their will being taken away, and I hate the zombie state that they're left in.

Damon sets the guy's feet firmly on the ground and brushes off his shoulders, smiling the way he does after he's coerced someone into getting what he wants, the smile that doesn't really make it to his eyes. "Great. Thanks. Have a nice night," he says. His words are short, and I know he's not happy.

We walk back to our blanket and sit down, both of us still a little on edge. I glance at him, trying to decide if I'm mad or not. I wish he wouldn't have compelled the man. I wish he wouldn't have lost his temper, though I'm not sure what else I should have expected in that moment.

"Damon?" I ask softly, like he's an animal that might startle and attack. "Are you ok?"

He shakes his head a little, like he's trying to clear his mind. "Yeah, I'm fine. I'm sorry, I'm just a little on edge. I shouldn't have roughed him up like that." He mumbles something about being hungry.

"Wait, Damon, when's the last time you fed?" I didn't even think about his hunger and how it would affect our trip. When Damon's on good behavior, I can almost convince myself that he's not what he really is.

"I'm fine," he deflects. "Is your ankle ok? It looked like you rolled it on that ball. Do you need some ice?"

"Damon," I say his name slowly, intentionally, wanting him to actually listen to me. He does. "What is your plan here? When are you going to eat? What are you going to eat? You can't go this whole trip without feeding."

He won't meet my eyes. What does he have to ashamed about? I know he needs to eat, and I'm used to seeing the empty blood bags from the hospital laying around the boarding house.

After a long moment, he answers quietly, "I was going to figure it out later, when the time came. I don't want you to have to think or worry about what I'm going to do, if I'm going to kill someone while we're on the road."

"You mean the way you looked like you wanted to kill that guy?"

"Well...he was just being an ass. If I killed him, it wouldn't have been because of hunger."

I sigh, rolling my eyes. He spends his days teetering back and forth between predator and protector. It's amazing he doesn't have permanent whiplash.

"Thank you for defending me. I don't even understand why he was so mad."

"He was a jerk, don't worry about it. Now let's enjoy the show."

I look up and gasp. There are huge pictures and designs on the face of the rock before me, neon lasers carving across the mountain. I hadn't even realized the show was starting. It's a little childish and silly but also completely beautiful. I spend the next hour forgetting everything around me except the story being told on the side of a mountain.