Chapter 41: Bella's POV

It's the second day in a row that I wake up to him. He's wrapped me into his arms and is holding me close. Front to front. My head is snuggled into his chest and his chin rest on the top of my head.

We're close.

It's intimate.

And Charlie would kill both of us if he walked in.

It's that thought that motivates me to push away from the man in my bed. Even if he protests with half awake whines and weak attempts to hold me tighter. It pains me to leave him, but I need to get around. I was never one to sleep in too late, and I'm sure Charlie will be suspicious if I did.

So I leave a tired Damon in my bed and make my way downstairs where I can already hear Charlie getting around.

"Hey kid," is Charlie's greeting as I make my way into the kitchen. He's eating a box of cereal dressed in his uniform. He must have somewhere to go. "How was the party?"

"Good." I say. I don't mention the part where a man threatened to kill me or how Damon killed that man—sort of. I don't think Charlie could take that kind of news so early in the morning.

"That's good," he eats another bite. I watch, "And Damon…did he drop you off?" I raise an eyebrow at this. I guess Damon didn't talk to my dad last night.

"He did. But he said he needed to get back home quickly, something with his brother came up." It worries me how easy it is to lie to Charlie now. How easy it is not to tell him that Damon is up in my room this very moment. That he has been there all night.

"Oh," Charlie muses, "Then I guess I'll see him later tonight."

"Why?"

"Council meeting."

"Adult stuff." I clarify. Charlie nods.

"I have to work today." Charlie continues. He's pushed his bowl to the other side of the table. It's his sign of I'm done eating you can take care of it now. "I won't be home too late. You'll be okay, right?" His eyes are full of worry. I guess he's still iffy about the whole me getting kidnapped thing.

"I'll be fine dad," I say laughing, "I'll probably go over to Caroline's. I'm in need of some girl time."

"Good." Charlie mumbles. "Very good."

Ten minutes later-after we've both had our breakfast and Charlie makes sure I'm okay-I'm finally pushing my dad out the door. I smile and wave as he drives off before going back inside.

It's kind of nice to know that I have the day to myself. I haven't had a good old-fashioned Bella day in a while, and I could really use one. Curl up on my bed and read a book. Take a nice long bath and scrub away all my worries. I could even work on that story I had been—

"So we have the house to ourselves," Damon says casually. He's laying down on my couch casually. Shirt off and only wearing the pair of dress pants he had on last night. "Wonder what we could do?"

So much for Bella time.

"Don't tell me you forgot about me Just-a-Girl," Damon pouts from the couch, "I like to think that I'm…unforgettable." The last word is a purr off of his lips. A purr that makes me close my eyes and remember the hardness of his body molded to mine. The softness of his lips.

I open my eyes.

And he's right there.

Inches away from my face looking at me with burning eyes and caressing my face with soft hands.

"You are memorable Stranger." I indulge him. Damon grins before he kisses me softly on the forehead.

"I love it when you call me that." He says with a grin.

"Why?"

"Because you're my Just-a-Girl and I'm your Stranger." His Just-a-Girl—my heart races. For once the vampire beside me doesn't seem to notice. He's too busy dragging me over to the couch.

"We still need to talk." I say as he pulls me onto the cushions, or should I say his lap. Damon stiffens.

"About what?" He asks. If my back wasn't smashed to his front I'm sure I would be looking at narrowed blue eyes.

"About vampires." I don't say about Katherine. I may have told him about Edward but I'm not going to be forcing him to tell me about her.

"What about vampires?" I shift in Damon's lap until we're facing each other.

"Everything."

"Everything?"

"Everything."

"Well then," He pushes me softly off his lap and I thud onto the cushion in protest. I liked where I was better. "The first thing you should know is that I don't drink from animals. Stefan does, but it just isn't me."

I swallow—hard—and nod my head. I'll give him time to explain. I hope with all my heart that he does.

"Something you should also know is that Originals, we don't drink like Cold Ones. First off when we…bite, we don't inject poison into the human. As you've seen, we have fangs. When we drink it's perfectly safe."

"Well then how do you turn people?" I ask.

"Why do you want to know that Just-a-Girl?" Damon head cocks to the right, and if I didn't know better I would have thought I saw longing in those baby blues.

"Just want to get my facts straight." I lie smoothly.

"Hmm," Damon mumbles, but he continues. "You have to drink a vampire's blood, die, and then feed to complete the process."

Wait one second.

"Didn't…didn't you feed me your blood?"

"Well look at that," Damon says with a grin, "I did. Better not die Just-a-Girl or you're going to be joining me in eternity." I don't tell him how appealing that sounds. Instead I roll my eyes and tell him to continue.

"Something else I want to get cleared up is the fact that we don't fucking sparkle. That's just wrong." I laugh at Damon's comment, because really it kind of is. "Instead of…sparkling…we burn."

"You don't burn in the sun. I think I would have noticed your burning flesh." I state. Damon twists a ring on his finger.

"It's a Lapis Lazuli ring, spelled by a witch long ago," his voice is distant. I don't push, "It protects me from the sun. Stefan and I both have one, but they're not a common thing for vamps to have." I nod in understanding.

"Do you guys have any powers?" I ask softly, "The Cold Ones I knew…they did." Only two coughs to cover the pain. I'm getting better.

"Well I can turn into a crow." He says with a wink. I shake my head to cover my smile, "We can also compel people. Make them do whatever we want them to."

"Have you…"

"No Just-a-Girl," Damon smiles softly, "I've never compelled you. I've tried but it doesn't seem to work on you." I scrunch my forehead in confusion. "Yeah I don't know why either. Usually the only way you can stop it is if you have vervain. Which you don't...soooo…"

"Maybe I'm just special." I say with a shrug. I somehow seem to forget to tell him that Edward couldn't hear my thoughts.

"That you are Just-a-Girl," Damon muses while tugging me to his side, "That you are."