Chapter 2
Gwen's first week in Mystic Falls flew by; Friday morning coming before she knew it. Sadly, there was little joy felt as the sun streamed through her window. Her new "friend" had returned.
"Go away!" she yelled, pulling the blanket over her head.
But the tapping on the glass and loud cawing only grew in intensity despite her protests. For the last four mornings, she'd been awoken in this manner. When she'd opened the window to find a crow casually sitting on the branch next to her window, she'd been surprised. When it happened the second and third mornings, she'd been baffled. The behavior had to be unusual, not that she knew much about birds, but going from aggressively attacking the window to apparent calmness once it was opened couldn't be considered normal. Finally, she gave up on pretending she couldn't hear it. Throwing her sheets off of her, she marched over to the window and threw it open.
"What do you want?" she snapped.
As usual, the black bird sat silently on a branch about a foot away from the window, eyeing her with apparent interest. Gwen wasn't sure, but as they studied each other, she could have sworn she'd seen this bird around town over the last few days.
"Are you following me or am I losing my mind?" she asked. The crow's only response was to tilt it's head up as she spoke. Sighing, Gwen leaned down so she could be eye-level with the bird. "Listen, if you can stop attacking the window every morning, I'll get you some delicious human food? What do you say?"
The crow cawed loudly and flew away, causing Gwen to jump back in surprise and hit her head on the window frame.
"Shit!" She rubbed her head as she pulled herself back into the room. She wasn't sure if the bird's response was an agreement, but Gwen supposed she should research what kind of food it could eat. Head throbbing, she wondered if she was capable of slipping poison in it. Probably not.
By the time she made it downstairs, Ric was on his second cup of coffee and looking over papers. Gwen poured herself a cup and grabbed an energy bar out of the cupboard. It wasn't the most nutritious breakfast, but it would do. Between school, her new job, and the crow, she was exhausted. She slid into the seat across from Ric, careful not to set her coffee too close to the papers — a difficult task given the size of the table.
"The bird came back?" Ric asked without looking up from his work.
"Yes," she said through gritted teeth. "That thing is crazy. What are you working on?"
"Pop quizzes from my sophomore class. Do you have work today?"
"Yes, just until six, though. After that I'm going over to Caroline's to get ready for the Halloween party, remember?"
He nodded absently. Ric paused to take a sip of coffee, finally raising his eyes to look at her. "Be home by midnight, and please don't do anything that earns a call from the sheriff."
Gwen scoffed, rolling her eyes. "I'll be with the sheriff's daughter, what trouble could I possibly get into?"
Ric shrugged and muttered something that sounded like 'you'd be surprised.' Gwen let it go. The only trouble Caroline would get them into is underage drinking, and it sounded like Caroline and her friends benefited from nepotism if they were caught in that situation. She couldn't let Ric know that though, so she decided to try to alleviate his concerns.
"I promise no illegal shenanigans," she said, barely able to keep a straight face.
"Just legal ones?" Ric questioned teasingly.
"It is Halloween. You're supposed to have fun."
"Fine, just don't go too crazy." Ric sighed, then jumped up and began packing his papers into his bag. "Shit, I gotta go. There's a teacher's meeting at seven-thirty. You ok to get to school on your own."
"Of course."
"All right see you later," he said, grabbing his coat from the back of the chair. As he walked out the door, he called back, "Don't forget your work uniform!"
"Ok! Bye!"
She heard the door slam shut and got up to get a second cup of coffee. Today was going to be a long day.
"Gwen, I need you to take tables sixteen and five so Nick can cover the bar."
Gwen groaned. Matt and Vicki were mysteriously absent, so she was pulling double-duty as server and busser. Turning to face her manager, Jack, she set the heavy and full bin of dirty dishes on an empty table. She was exhausted and was supposed to get off in five minutes. Surely there was someone they could call.
"It's just for thirty minutes," Jack said, stopping her protest before it could start. "Hayley's on her way in, and you'll get overtime."
"Fine," Gwen sighed, picking up the heavy bin. Even though Gwen was working two jobs, the Grill wasn't swamped with customers. Families were at home getting ready to trick-or-treat and the high schoolers wouldn't be in until later. After dropping off the bin in the kitchen, she sent a quick text to Caroline to let her know she would be late. When she returned to the dining area, she was surprised to find a familiar face at table five.
"Welcome to the Grill. What can I get you this evening?" Gwen said in her customer voice, feeling a little embarrassed Damon was seeing her at work. If his smirk was anything to go by, however, he was enjoying it.
"Well if it isn't the emo photographer. Seen any good fog lately?"
"No." She dropped the customer voice and turned defensive, her embarrassment growing. She wasn't sure why his presence bothered her so much. Sure she was cute, but it's not like she knew him. And from what she'd learned from Caroline and Bonnie, she probably didn't want to. "Can I get you something?"
"Let's start with a basket of onion rings. Oh, and have you seen Vicki Donovan?"
Gwen paused, glancing up at him from the ticket she was writing. "Uh, no? She's actually missed work the last few days, and now Matt's MIA. Why?"
Damon shrugged. "Just trying to help Matt find her."
"So looking for someone means ordering onion rings?" Gwen asked skeptically. "What's wrong with her anyway?"
"Drugs, she's on a real bad trip."
"You know, you sound more bored than concerned. Why are you even helping?"
"Why do you care?" Damon asked, giving her his full attention.
"I don't," she said, finishing the ticket. "I'm just trying to figure you out."
His smirk returned, even more pronounced. "Been asking around about me?"
"Maybe," she said playfully.
"And what have you heard?" he asked. He was incredibly smug as he slipped into flirtatious banter. Gwen reminded herself not to let it get to her. From what she had heard, that was just how he was.
"Nothing good. You don't have a lot of fans around here."
"You must be talking to the wrong people."
Gwen shrugged. "I can't reveal my sources."
Instead of looking offended, Damon almost seemed pleased with having a bad reputation. The lack of effort to defend himself made Gwen think Bonnie and Caroline weren't exaggerating. Gwen wasn't sure how that made her feel. From what they'd told her and his demeanor, she shouldn't want anything to do with him. Yet there was something about him that drew her in, made her want to learn more.
"You know," he said, interrupting her self-reflection, "you can't believe everything you hear, especially in a small town."
"Usually, I'd agree with you," she said in a faux thoughtful manner. "However, my source is very reliable — not some random townie."
"Who is it?" Damon asked with genuine interest as he leaned forward. Under his intense stare Gwen almost told him but caught herself. Instead, she teasingly acted out zipping her lips closed and throwing away the key. Scoffing, Damon relaxed back into the booth.
Gwen noticed her manager signaling to her to come over and realized she'd spent too much time taking Damon's order. Ripping off the ticket, she said, "I'll go put this in for you."
"So that's it then?" he said, making her pause and turn back to him. "We can't be friends."
She smiled, despite herself. "I never said that."
Twenty minutes later Gwen was in Caroline's bedroom, allowing the blonde to do her hair and makeup for the Halloween party. Bonnie was meeting them at the party and they doubted they'd see Elena since was dealing with Stefan, according to Caroline. It would only be the three of them dressed as witches for the night. Caroline had selected a theme for each costume, choosing sexy witch for herself and assigning punk witch to Gwen. Currently, Caroline was curling her hair and clipping in bright purple hair extensions.
"Tonight is going to be so much fun," Caroline gushed, releasing another section of hair from the curling iron. "And who knows? Maybe we'll meet a couple of cute warlocks."
"Is it warlocks or wizards?" Gwen asked.
Caroline scrunched her face in thought. "I don't know. Aren't they the same thing?"
"No idea, neither sound cool though."
"True," Caroline agreed, laughing. "We'll aim for cute …. What do guys normally go as?"
"I think they usually throw on old, messy clothes and apply some fake blood," Gwen said, struggling to come up with an idea of what teenage boys normally dressed up as.
"Whatever," Caroline said. "We'll just hope for something cute."
"Thanks for letting me get ready here, by the way," Gwen said, after they'd worked through a fit of giggles. "Ric never would have let me go in that outfit."
"Really? You're way more covered than I am. Plus, you'll have tights on under the skirt."
"I know, but he's funny that way."
Gwen was actually excited about the costume; it would be fun to wear. The skirt was black but the under skirt alternated between purple and lime green under the jagged hem. Like Caroline, she would also have a bodice top, but hers was attached to the skirt and had long flowy sleeves. The look would be completed with torn up, sheer black tights and black boots. It was the quintessential Halloween witch costume and Gwen loved it.
"Are you sure Elena and Bonnie don't mind me tagging along? I'd hate to ruin some special friend tradition of yours."
Caroline scoffed. "Trust me, you're not. I doubt Elena even shows up. I mean, she's been distant since her parents' accident but since Stefan's been here, she's never around. And I have no idea what's going on with Bonnie. She keeps freaking out over this witch thing."
"Witch thing?"
"Her grandmother told her she comes from this long line of witches by way of Salem and now she thinks she psychic," Caroline explained, her tone making it clear she thought the whole thing was ridiculous. "Honestly, I'm surprised she agreed to the costumes. Anyway, I'm counting on you to bring some normalcy to our group and remind those two how to have fun."
Gwen laughed. "I'll do my best."
"Good," Caroline said, looking pleased. Releasing the final section of hair from the curling iron, she continued, "And you're done. Now, go get changed. We're meeting Bonnie in fifteen minutes."
Gwen was freezing. She couldn't believe she'd thought wearing the costume without a jacket was a good idea. The thin material did nothing to block the cold autumn air, so she'd gone through the haunted house three times. Well, the second time had been because Gwen had been separated from Bonnie and Caroline, who were also freezing. This time she'd gone through because it was faster to cut through the haunted maze to get to the food and drinks than walk around it. When she emerged from the building, in record time, she was thrilled to see the hot drink stand.
The line was mercifully short, and the worker even gave her a cup carrier for her three apple ciders. While the carrier made navigating back to the other two girls easier, she still had to maneuver between crowds of people and watch out for kids running haphazardly past her as parents struggled to keep up with them. Caroline and Bonnie were in sight when she bumped into someone, nearly spilling the drinks.
"Sorry," she mumbled, stopping to make sure the drinks were steady.
"Nice costume," said a deep, amused voice. Gwen looked up to see Damon smirking at her as he took in her outfit. Gwen felt her face warm in embarrassment and was thankful for the dim lighting.
Recovering, she said, "I'm surprised to see you here. I didn't think a Halloween party would be something you'd go to."
Damon shrugged. "I'll admit this isn't my usual kind of party but it's turning out to be a better night than anticipated." Nodding to the carrier in her hand, he asked, "I didn't think they had drink service here."
Gwen rolled her eyes. "They don't. I'm bringing these to my friends," she explained, gesturing in the direction of Caroline and Bonnie, who were glaring daggers at Damon.
Damon looked behind him, turning back with a delightedly smug expression. "I guess I know who's been telling you all those bad things about me. You know, you can't trust what a girl and her friends say about her ex. It's like girl code to hate him, or something."
Laughing, Gwen said, "I'm not sure that's quite how it works. But what do you care what they tell me? We don't even know each other."
Damon stepped closer, so close there was only a few inches between them. Fixing her with his stare, he whispered, "What if I wanted to change that?"
Then, without another word, he walked off, leaving a perplexed Gwen still standing there. Regaining her senses, she completed her journey to Caroline and Bonnie, handing the drink carrier to Caroline.
"How do you know Damon?" Caroline demanded, looking almost upset.
"I don't, not really," she said, unease flowing through her. She wasn't really friends with these girls yet and didn't want to risk what they had over some handsome but odd guy. "I've, um, run into him around town a few times. That's all."
"Just be careful, all right," Caroline said, her tone changing from almost accusatory to concerned. "He can be super sweet but there's a dark side to him. He's dangerous."
"Caroline's being nice," Bonnie cut-in, covering for her friend's discomfort. "Damon's an ass."
Gwen held up her hands in a sign of surrender, wanting to put the other two girls at ease. "I get it. Like I said, I've only seen him around town. It's not like we're hanging out or anything."
Caroline waved her hand, trying to wave the awkwardness away. "Ignore us. It was just a bad breakup. I guess it's still fresh."
Gwen nodded and smiled in what she hoped showed understanding, taking her cup of hot apple cider from Bonnie. As she gripped the cup, her fingers briefly brushed the other girl's. Bonnie jerked away as if shocked and stared at Gwen with her eyes full of fear.
"What are you?" Bonnie asked, her voice shaking and barely audible.
"What?" Gwen asked taken aback by Bonnie's sudden change. Caroline rolled her eyes and hissed at Bonnie to knock it off. Bonnie seemed to come back to herself, though she only looked more fearful now.
"I'm sorry. I-I have to go."
Bonnie took off, ignoring Caroline's calls to talk to her. Turning back to Gwen she said, "See? She's playing up this whole psychic thing for attention."
Gwen forced a laugh to show she found Bonnie's behavior ridiculous, but she could not help but feel confused and a little worried about Bonnie's outburst. What did Bonnie mean?
Caroline and Gwen stayed at the party for another hour before Caroline declared it "dead" and decided to go home. She invited Gwen over to watch a movie and sleep over, but Gwen declined. She couldn't shake the nervous feeling Bonnie had left her with and just wanted to get home. They parted ways with Gwen promising to text Caroline tomorrow so they could meet up for coffee.
Once again, Gwen was without a ride and lugging her bag full of clothes back to her house. Thankfully, she'd convinced Ric to take home her books home for her. Most nights when she walked home, the streets were empty. With it being Halloween, however, there were still quite a few people out celebrating, though it was mostly other high schoolers and adults. Gwen was grateful for the pseudo-company. Bonnie's outburst had left her extremely unnerved, which is why she nearly screamed when Damon suddenly appeared in front of her.
"Shit! What's wrong with you? You can't just sneak up on people like that."
He laughed. "Trust me, there was zero sneaking involved. What's wrong with you? You seem distracted."
"Nothing, it's just been a long night." Desperate to change the subject and take the focus off of her, she asked, "What are you supposed to be anyway? A greaser?"
Startled, he looked down to examine his own outfit: jeans, a white t-shirt, and a black leather jacket. "Guess I am," he said with a shrug. "I love your outfit by the way. I'm not sure what's better, the hair or the hat."
Gwen smiled, but Caroline and Bonnie's warnings echoed in her head and it quickly fell. "You know, Caroline and Bonnie were pretty upset when they saw me talking to you."
"Caroline likes drama and draws everyone else into it," he said dismissively.
Gwen looked at him in disbelief. "Most people don't describe someone as 'dangerous' just for the sake of creating drama."
Damon studied her for a minute, as if he was assessing her for something. Gwen didn't know what she was doing. She knew something was off about Damon, even before she'd received warnings from the girls. They'd only met a few times and they'd all been short, though tense and flirty, encounters. Gwen shouldn't be looking for an explanation from him, especially one for why he had clearly treated Caroline so poorly.
"All right," he said, breaking the silence, "maybe I could've been nicer to Caroline."
"That's not really an explanation."
"I don't see a need to explain myself. Can you deal with that?"
"I don't know," she said, walking past him. "Good night, Damon."
It felt good to be the one walking away for once, and she was a little relieved that Damon let her go. Ten minutes later, she was quietly closing the door behind her, trying not to wake her uncle. The effort was pointless, however, as she found him still up in his office.
"Grading papers?" she asked, leaning against the doorframe.
He turned from his work to look at her, eyes red from exhaustion. "Research, actually. Nice costume."
"It's not that bad," she said, picking up on his distaste. "What are you researching?"
"Oh nothing," he said, though she noticed he positioned himself so she couldn't see what he was reading on the computer. Gwen let out a disappointed sigh. He was researching vampires again. It was Isobel's old work that he'd taken up after her death. Gwen didn't think he believed they were real but continued the work to feel closer to Isobel. She didn't think it was healthy and had even voiced her concerns to him. He waved them off, however, and they'd come to an unspoken agreement to not talk about it. "Just reading up on some town history. There's so much here; I want to connect it to the lessons as much as possible."
"Dork," she said half-heartedly. "I'm off to bed. It's been a very long day."
"All right," he mumbled, distracted by his computer screen. "Night."
Gwen said good night before ascending the stairs to her room. She'd been so busy with school and work that not much more unpacking had been done, though they had managed to rearrange the furniture so it was more functional and put up better blinds. Gwen walked over to close the blinds, not wanting to change with the windows open, and saw her visitor perched on its branch.
"What is wrong with you?" she muttered. The bird didn't respond, only stared back. She closed the blinds, knowing it wouldn't block out any noise but taking strange comfort that it couldn't watch her. Something was seriously off about that bird. When she finally crawled into bed, an unexpected wave of sleepiness hit her. As she was drifting off to sleep, she could have sworn she heard a light tapping at the window.
AN: Thank you to everyone who is reading/following this story! And a special thanks to those who left reviews: PrincessMagic, bdw8033, and sloksing45 (this was the Ron Swanson of reviews and i love it!).
