"Sometimes I don't speak right
But yet I know what I'm talking about

Why can't we be friends?
Why can't we be friends?
Why can't we be friends?
Why can't we be friends?" – Why Can't We Be Friends, War, 1975

ELENA POV

I wake up the following morning with a pounding headache. I don't know if it's from all the booze I drank with Damon ease myself into the existence of the supernatural or the stress of the revelation that followed, but it hurts. A lot. It really hurts.

So, Elena, let's reassess.

Damon is a vampire. Vampires apparently exist. One almost attacked you, using some weird superpower called "compulsion," but he saved you. I don't remember actually thanking him for this. Maybe I should.

I have an organic chem exam coming up next week.

Alright, let's think about this like a rational adult. I have no idea where he is, or how to find him. I don't even know his last name, nor does he know mine, so the chances of us ever seeing each other again are pretty slim.

He knows how to find me, but I sincerely doubt he'll make the effort after I thanked him for the rescue by slapping him across the face and then running out.

Damon is a vampire.

Vampires exist.

Damon is a vampire.

Vampires exist.

Damon is a vampire.

Vampires exist.

I'm pretty sure I'm actually hyperventilating.

DAMON POV

Well, I'm a fucking idiot. Just last night, I was ecstatic that Katherine's surprisingly sweet lookalike bolted out of my life, and here I am, waiting for to leave her dorm just so I could talk to her again.

What the fuck is wrong with me?

Everything with the blonde went so well last night. She sucked me off a good three times just so I wouldn't leave. Every time I tried, she'd get on her knees. And what kind of gentleman would I be if I didn't indulge her?

By the end of the night, I said I might call her, which I probably won't, but at least I stopped thinking about Elena as much. Every time she popped into my head, I would just extend my fangs and take that girl's throat, indulging in my nature.

I'm a fucking vampire, and I'm gonna fucking act like one. I left close to sunrise, fully sated in more ways than one, and compelled her to wear a scarf and maybe take some iron supplements for the next few weeks. Never know when I might need another quick blow job, and this girl could teach a master class. And as a bonus, it actually gets her to shut up.

I know what desperate looks like, and this girl will be ready any time I walk through the door or even glance in her direction.

I walked home through the sunrise and thought of her again. Normally, 'her' would mean Katherine, but this morning, it's different. I wonder what she tastes like, what she looks like when she's riding wave after wave of bliss, what she sounds like as she pants beneath me, or above me, or in any position where I show her what real pleasure can be.

And based on what I've seen, from that adorable shyness, that innocence, she has no idea. I can't wait for her to find out.

Fuck. I'm doing it again.

Before I even realize where my feet take me, I'm back down in the Village, outside new dorm room. Waiting. For what? For a chance to fucking shatter the wall around my humanity?

Fuck.

ELENA POV

Alright, alright. I have micro-bio in twenty minutes, so I chug the swill I made in my handy, dorm-friendly coffee maker and dash out the door, hangover can rot. I have no idea how I'm actually gonna sit through class today. Why did I have to drink so much? Why did I have to mix everything in sight?

Oh yeah. Vampires and looking like an exact copy of the guy you like's ex. A guy I'm probably never gonna see again, so as much as that thought hurts, at least it simplifies my life somewhat.

Just as I allow myself to dwell on losing someone I never even had, I see him, right out there, talking to Melanie fuc—fudging Sparks of all people. Perfect. Melanie and I met freshman year, through some mutual friends. I was single at the time, since Matt and I were on a break, and she took it upon herself to throw herself at every guy that gave me even an ounce of attention. For the most part, I didn't really care, since my focus was on my studies, anyway. At first, it was annoying. Then, it was amusing.

But now, watching her shamelessly flirt with Damon, it's infuriating.

More than that, I feel almost pained? Like there's a dagger lodged in my heart at the thought of him kissing her smug face.

Get it together, Elena! He's still hung up on his vampire ex, who looks exactly like you, that he's apparently going to liberate from some tomb in thirty-two years. Wow, what a sentence that was. I think if a shrink got a ticket onto my train of thought, I'd be committed in no time.

I struggle for a while, trying to decide whether or not to approach them, but it looks like her seems me first. That smug smirk is back, like he's the center of the universe and not only does he know it, but everyone else does, too, and I can't even tell if he excuses himself before he makes his way over.

Mel looks affronted, which is I guess the silver lining on the cloud that this event has become, and is following him at a very brisk pace, one a little too quick to be considered anything other than determined. She looks desperate, and that brings a smile to my face.

Good.

"Elena," he greets, his voice smooth and silky and sultry as molasses. I struggle not to melt immediately.

"Damon," I say, hoping to sound casual, but I haven't spoken out loud in hours, and my voice sounds just as hoarse and broken as I feel. Great.

If possible, his the conceit in his smirk grows to even greater proportions and he leans in, studying me. "You alright?"

Mel grabs his hand, pressing her tiny little chest against him. Stop being petty, Elena. "Let's get out of here," she whispers in his ear, continuing to rub up against him in a way that's insulting to cats everywhere. "Leave Gilbert and her nasty little jollies for dissecting frogs or whatever those loser nerds do in class alone."

Damon looks at me sharply, stepping away from Mel so quickly that she stumbles, earning a chuckle from me, but he doesn't seem to be laughing at all. "Gilbert," he asks, like he's seen a ghost. "Is that your last name?"

I nod, unsure why that seems to be such a big deal. It's a pretty common name.

"Any connection to Mystic Falls, Virginia?"

Now it's my turn to appear shocked. How could he possibly know that? I nod again, numbly, wondering when my voice will deign to return.

He appears taken aback, but only for a second, and the smirk that I'm starting suspect more and more is a mask is back. He extends his hand confidently for me to take. "Damon Salvatore."

At this point, my eyebrows have definitely crawled to the top of my head. I manage enough control to take his hand, only to watch him turn it over, and place a soft kiss right between my knuckles. There's a part of my that's instantly swooning, which I already hate, but can't control. My heartbeat's hammering like a hummingbird. "You're from there, too," I ask stupidly, obviously knowing the answer, and yet I can't help myself.

"Sure appears that way," he says, cocking his head to the side. "Two founding family members, finding each other in New York City. What are the odds?"

"As fascinating as I'm sure Elena's family tree is," Mel interrupts in what I'm sure she thinks is a sexy voice. Alright, maybe it is sexy, I grudgingly admit. But it's obviously very practiced. "There's a party happening in my dorm now. Party of two. And you're invited."

DAMON POV

I can see the way Elena's deflating whenever her attention-seeking friend flirts with me, and while I normally love the attention, something about the wounded look she's desperately trying to hide rubs me the wrong way. I don't like seeing her hurt, or sad, or in any way upset.

What the fuck is wrong with me?

I turn to face the girl, letting the compulsion seep into my voice. "You need to leave," I command, and then think better. "And stop annoying Elena."

"You didn't have to do that," Elena replied, blushing.

"I can tell she's doing it on purpose," I offer diplomatically, which is true. It was beyond obvious that her bout of desperation wasn't completely inspired by her attraction to me. The second we saw Elena, she amped it up times a million. "Listen…"

"I'm sorry," she interrupts, her big brown eyes wide and innocent and full of contrition. "You saved my life last night, and I thanked you for it by slapping you and yelling at you, and trying to accuse you –"

"It's no problem," I reply, almost magnanimously, trying to really play it up. She doesn't realize just how close she was to the truth. I had every intention of using her as a placeholder, but if she wants to feel bad for 'jumping to the wrong conclusion,' I wasn't about to disabuse her of that notion.

She narrowed her eyes a tad, studying me. "I still think you should keep your flirty little comments to yourself, but I'd like to try being friends, if you would," she said earnestly.

Friends. Huh. Not exactly what I had in mind, but I guess it's a start. No reason we can't add a few benefits later. "I'm sorry, too, Elena. I should have been honest with you from the start, but what was I supposed to say? You look exactly like my vampire sire who's been trapped in a tomb for over a century?"

She laughed at the ridiculousness of the statement, just as I hoped. Score three for Salvatore?

I decide to push my luck a bit. "You look a bit out of sorts. Based on that monstrous combination I saw you drink last night, and don't get me wrong, impressive," I say, playfully placating her, and earning a smile. "I'm guessing you have a hangover. Why don't I take you out for a little cure?"

"I… have class," she argues unconvincingly.

"You really think you're in any condition to pay attention?" I ask knowingly.

She finally allows that smile to fully rise on her face and nods. "What did you have in mind?"

"Oh, old classic. Hair of the dog. Come on," I reply.

"A bar," she asks, shocked. "At this time of day? Are there even any open?"

I take her hand, smoothly placing it in the crook of mine with a wink. "Plenty. Just gotta have some friends in low places."

Sorry for the slightly shorter chapter, everyone, but I wanted to make sure I get an update in. I think the next one will be sooner than usual, if it's any consolation.

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