AN: Thank you for the follows and favorites! I've been a busy bee with new motherhood and all. I hope more people read! Please REVIEW if you do read! It'll motivate me to update faster! I'm still on cloud nine from meeting Ian Somerhalder haha. Go to a convention if there's ever one near you! It's worth it. Anyway, enjoy!
Chapter 3
Damons POV
Yep, the girl had me interested. Something about the haunted look on her face as she closed the door on me had my mind reeling. What was she hiding? What had her so obviously upset? Why the fuck did I even care? Damn, this town really had gotten boring. Pretty girls are a dime a dozen so why did this one intrigue me so much? I drive back to the boarding house in a daze. What is she hiding!?
"Damon!" I don't even notice that I've come into the house let alone sat on the couch with a glass of bourbon in hand. Elena's loud voice snaps me out of my thinking.
"What can I do for you my favorite sister in law?" She shakes her head at my remark.
"What's gotten into you? I said your name five times!" I shrug and stretch.
"I'm thinking, something you know next to nothing about. Now what do you want?" My snide remarks barely make her flinch anymore.
"We're having your birthday party on Saturday, so you better not take off anywhere." Uhg! I let out a groan.
"Really Elena? A birthday party? I'm going to be 173 years old; I stopped celebrating my birthdays about a hundred years ago." The last thing I needed was a whole bunch of annoying ass teenagers invading my perfectly clean home. They always broke shit and drank all my good alcohol. Elena had way too many parties for my liking. My middle name is party but when it came to Elena's parties they always left much to be desired.
"I don't care what you say. Stefan and I want to throw you a party." Of course they do. The couple that never realized how very much I wanted them to stay the hell away from me. Suddenly a brilliant idea pops into my head.
"Fine, you can throw me a party. I'll come dressed to the nines and won't even bitch once as long as you do one tiny thing for me." I grin at her reluctant expression.
"What?"
"Get Layla to come. Something about her is just so…tasty." She looks at me clearly disgusted. I only added that last part to get a rise out of her. "I'm just kidding grouchy, I just enjoy the pleasure of the ladys company. So pretty please convince her to come." I turn on the charm. I know its hard for Elena to say no to me when I'm sounding so sweet.
"I swear to God if you sink one fang into any part of that womans body I'll stake you." She was oh so intimidating.
"I wouldn't dream of scarring such a sexy little body. That doesn't mean I wont sink something else into her." I raise my eyebrows dramatically.
"You're disgusting Damon." I chuckle and stretch out leisurely on my couch.
"If by disgusting you mean ridiculously sexy and desirable, then yes, yes I am disgusting." She throws a glass at me but I catch it easily and grin even wider.
Laylas POV
Don't ask me why I was coming to this party. Sure I wanted to meet new people and make some friends but I also didn't want to be around the nosy ass vampire this party was being thrown for. Damon was attractive and charming and funny and self absorbed and nosy! He'd somehow gotten my phone number and had been bombarding me with texts and calls non stop for five days. "Whats your secret?" "You can tell me whatever it is your hiding, I swear I wont tell." And between all of those annoying remarks he was constantly making sexual comments. And yes I was completely tempted to just jump into bed with the man which is why it was a bad idea for me to be here. The last thing I needed was any kind of relationship with a man. I doubt I could ever kiss a man again let alone have sex with one.
Elena had shown up at my house the day after I met her and we went and got lunch and had been going out everyday together since then. I really liked her. She was sweet and fun to be around. I liked Stefan a lot as well. They were great for each other. And tonight I would be meeting the rest of their friends. I hoped I would fit in with them as well.
There has to be over a hundred people in the Salvatore's home. The music is loud and actually welcoming. I should let myself let loose and have fun for once. I'm getting quite a few looks from people. Probably wondering who I am. I'm wearing an emerald green silk top with a very low cut paired with a tight fitting denim skirt and a pair of gold strappy sandals. My hair is curled for once and I'm wearing a little more makeup than usual. I look pretty, gotta make a good impression.
"Layla!" Elena pushes through the throngs of people in the large home and hugs me tightly. I giggle at her enthusiasm. "Wow you look great!" She looks beautiful too, like usual. She's wearing a black halter top dress.
Two girls have walked up with Elena. One is dark skinned and shorter than Elena while the other is a taller blonde. They both are very pretty.
"This is Bonnie and Caroline!" I shake both of their hands and smile warmly.
"Elena tells me Man whore Salvatore has his sights set on you now, poor girl." The blonde genuinely sounds as if she feels sorry for me. Apparently the annoying man had a reputation.
"Eh, nothing I can't handle. He'll never get anywhere with me." Caroline smiles at me in approval.
"Oh really? That's not what you said last night." I turn and glare at the man standing way too close to me. He of course looks gorgeous. Silk black button up and dark pants that fit him way too well.
"I believe what I said when you so rudely called me at two in the morning was go fuck yourself!" That stupid smug look appears on his face like always.
"Oh believe me honey I did 'go fuck myself' your voice is just so sexy." The girls make gagging noises behind me.
I shake my head in annoyance and link my arm through Elena's. "Show me to the alcohol?"
"Gladly." And just like that we leave the lecherous creep that is Damon Salvatore standing there with a dumb ass grin on his face.
I like both Bonnie and Caroline, though Bonnie seems a little uptight tonight. I also meet their friend Matt and Tyler, Carolines boyfriend. Apparently he had just recently been body snatched by an Original vampire named Klaus. This was all way too confusing for me. The man Klaus had a thing for Caroline and I guess he showed up frequently to annoy her. For some reason the way she spoke about him made me think maybe she had some feelings for him she wasn't too happy about having. Elena's little brother Jeremy also introduces himself too me, he's a little flirty and it just makes me smile, he's harmless.
"I think Jeremy thinks you're cute." Elena sounds chipper.
"I'm a little too old for him I think." She nods her head in agreement.
I feel an arm wrap around my shoulders and I glare up at the man that I know is the culprit. He has a glass of bourbon in the hand that's not squeezing my upper arm.
"How old are you exactly?" I peel his arm off of me and take a step away.
"Waaaaaay too young for you. Elena said you're 173. Sorry I don't sleep with people that are old enough to be my great great grandfather." Elena giggles next to me. Damon just rolls his eyes. He puts his hand on my lower back to direct me forward. He has no idea what personal space is.
He leads me out the back door and into the back yard. It's a beautiful summer night. It's perfectly warm. The sky is filled with stars. It's so peaceful. It's strange going from the crowded noisiness of the house to the quiet splendor of the night.
I plop rather ungracefully onto the ground and lay back on the cool grass to stare at the sky. "It's so beautiful out." Damon seems to acknowledge my statement with a tilt of his head to the sky before he takes a seat next to me.
"You're a strange girl. One minute you're happy as a clam and the next you look like you want to blow your brains out." I look over to him and raise my eyebrows at him incredulously.
"I don't think I ever look like I want to blow my brains out." Why the hell does he have to try reading into my emotions anyway? From what I've learned from Elena Damon rarely cares about anyone. I don't even know the guy really. I'm probably just some puzzle for an immortal creature with way too much time on his hands.
"Oh yes you do. I'm sure you don't want anyone to notice. But sometimes in mid conversation you get this blank look on your face like you're thinking way too much and get this sad puppy dog look in your eyes. Trust me princess, I know that look. I spent years watching my mopey ass brother have that exact same expression on his face. You're depressed and you're hiding something. I want to know what it is." He could make a perfectly good night intolerable.
"Why the hell do you want to know? It has nothing to do with you. It's not because you want to fix it and make me feel better, you don't even know me. Are you really just that fucking nosy!?" I sit up and stare daggers at the man next to me. My yelling doesn't even make him flinch. He looks even more curious. I didn't mean to get so angry but he's really pissing me off. I came here to get over the past not to have it brought up and dragged out into the open.
"You're interesting. There's something…different about you. You're awfully young to have a fucked up life. But you do don't you?" His eyes are way too intense, I can't hold his gaze. He looks at me like he's trying to see inside me and I hate it. I feel myself crumbling. Would he leave me alone if he knew? Would he think I was crazy?
"If I tell you, will you keep it to yourself?" I can't believe I'm about to do this. He looks stunned.
"You betcha! I like knowing things no one else knows. Makes me feel special." His smart ass comment and smug expression is his way of lightening the situation. I take a deep breathe and sit in silence for a couple minutes before I look Damon in the eyes again.
"I murdered my boyfriend." I whisper it, its hard to say out loud. He looks confused, maybe a little surprised but not really disgusted.
"I've killed more people than I can even recount." He says it so nonchalantly. His eyes are still trained on me, studying.
"It's a little different for you. You're a vampire. Elena's told me a lot about you. She said you've done a lot of fucked up stuff but you're not evil." One of his dark eyebrows raise.
"And you are?" It's something I've asked myself a million times. Am I evil?
"I don't regret it. I shot him four times. I stood over him and watched the blood stain my floor red and I didn't shed a single tear for him. I was glad I killed him." I keep my voice even. I wont cry now, not for that bastard. I'm just scared, scared of the judgment of others.
"He must have had it coming." My heart speeds up in shock. That's it? No freaking out? He's not worried about being around me. He's not going to ask why I killed him?
Damon stands up and brushes the grass of his jeans. He holds a pale hand out to me, I take it hesitantly. With barely a movement of his arm he hoists me to my feet effortlessly. I must have a strange look on my face because he chuckles at me. He begins to walk back to the house.
"You never did tell me how old you are." I stare at his back for a moment in disbelief before I move to follow him.
"I'm twenty two." He holds the door open for me with that damn smirk on his perfect face.
"I got two questions answered tonight, I'm on a roll. Happy birthday to me."