Hey everyone! Hope you're doing well! I am SO very sorry for not uploading in a while. Finding the time to upload was a bit tricky but here we are once again with another chapter, still in the summer before Sophia's senior year, continuing on from the last one. Soph and Damon find out a bit more about each other...

I dedicate this and want to give a massive shoutout to every single person who's been leaving such kind reviews. Y'all motivate me and I thank you so much!

Enjoy ~

DNM (Deep 'n' Meaningful)

Sophia's P.O.V.

Summer before Senior Year - 17 years old

Knowing that no one would be happy about me meeting up with Damon, I texted him to meet me in the forest around ten a.m - almost the middle of the night for everyone else. At around six a.m I told my parents I was going to a girl friend's house and I'd be home late. Instead, I snuck up to the Moroi housing rooftop to smoke a couple cigarettes and occupy my time with a book.

I crept down from the rooftop and across Court yards when it was time to meet Damon. He was already there, waiting, leaning tall against a tree with his arms crossed.

His eyes smouldered a little when he saw me. "Oh, didn't recognise you in the sunlight, beautiful," he said using the affectionate nickname.

I had gotten used to the nickname after the first few times he used it. I knew he meant it when he said. What I didn't know was whether he was saying it to also flirt with me or not.

"Yeah, you look quite dashing yourself," I said sarcastically. Inside though, I really thought he was hot especially in the sunlight. The sun rays bathed his skin and hair, making him appear more tan and golden. His piercing eyes were that much more bright and bold contrasting against his dark hair. The lines of his face and body somehow showed through even his clothes. He was otherworldly. Ethereal.

We started walking around the woods, in between tall trees and stepping over branches that had fallen. We started off with small talk about the Ball before I brought us to a halt by a small pond.

"What's up?" he asked me, noticing the sudden change in my mood. All of a sudden I felt uneasy with what I was about to bring up.

"I have to ask you something," I said slowly, "but please don't get mad at me."

He looked at me funnily. "Why would I get mad at you?"

I shook my head. "You just…might."

"Okay…"

"My parents and my sister—"

"Don't want us to hang out," he finished for me. That wasn't quite where I was going nonetheless he was still correct.

"Yes," I concurred. "How'd you know?"

"Your father had a chat with me the other day—"

"My father didwhat?!"

Damon continued talking, putting on a Russian accent in a fair imitation of my Dad, "'I've told Sophia, now I'm telling you: keep away from my daughter.'"

I laughed. "That was a spot-on impression." I applauded. "Wait," I said, realising something, "you came out here to meet me even though my father said not to?" I put on a feigned shocked voice. "You disobeyed a direct order from Guardian Belikov? Wow. You really are dangerous."

Both of us laughed.

"Even though you're right, that wasn't what I was going to ask," I said. Damon gestured for me to continue. I glanced around the forest and grabbed his hand, leading him to a shady spot under a pretty tree. We sat side by side, our knees almost touching. I gazed at him levelly. "My family told me some stuff about you," I started.

I didn't say anything else, I let his mind wander off to guess what they most likely told me. Damon leaned his head against the bark and blew out a breath.

"Yet the jail time and drinking didn't scare you off?" he joked drily.

"I'm not scared of you. Besides, I don't think I'm any better."

He cocked his head at me. "What do you mean?"

I looked away.

I could feel his eyes on me, boring into the back of my head, waiting for me to answer. I dropped my eyes down and watched a ladybug crawl on a blade of grass and fly away. "My parents would be so disappointed in me if they knew what I was doing."

"You mean sneaking out of the house to see me?" Damon asked.

"Yeah…but not just that."

He remained quiet until I was ready to speak. The silence eventually worked and I felt comfortable enough to share. I rummaged through my bag and dug out the pack of cigarettes and showed it to him.

"I have my vices too."

He was taken a bit by surprise but he still didn't say anything. "I've been smoking since I was fourteen."

"Since you were fourteen?" he repeated in a shocked low voice.

I met his eyes and nodded.

"Why?" he whispered. I stared into his eyes a heartbeat longer then looked down again.

"All sorts of reasons…stress, worry, anxiety…it's my…"

"Coping mechanism?" he offered.

I nodded again.

"Drinking was mine," he said suddenly.

I jerked my head back and saw he was ready to share something about himself too. "When I was your age, I witnessed my mother and my twin brother literally torn to shreds and killed by Strigoi."

I turned sympathetic and sorrowful. "That memory haunts me to this day. I drank to cover up the nightmares, to forget the memory of seeing my mother and brother die right in front of me, to cover up the guilt that I got away, that I survived."

I felt so bad for Damon. I felt so, so sad for him. I don't know how I would've coped watching two of my family members die at the same time. Without thinking, I jumped into his arms and wrapped my arms around his neck.

"I'm so sorry Damon. I can't imagine what that feels like," I whispered in his ear. I think I momentarily stunned him because it took him a second to return the hug. I pulled away from him and gave a sheepish, "Sorry."

"It's okay," he said. "Anyway, I've been sober now for almost five years."

"That's a big thing you know," I whispered to him.

"Thanks."

"Is that…is that when you went to jail?"

He nodded. "I used to drink a lot on my days off and go to bars and clubs. Got into a fight one night and the guardians showed up. Was sentenced for two years for assault and underage drinking."

"Two years? That seems a little unfair," I huffed. "Do you remember what you got into a fight for?"

"Vividly," was his curt answer. I didn't think he wanted to say anything else on the matter so I left it. Suddenly, he spoke up. "One of the girls in the bar was getting harassed. She told this prick to leave her alone like ten times but he persisted. I watched him approach her again when she tried to leave the bar. He kept touching her even though she clearly said 'no'. I was so pissed off and I had been drinking so I acted without thinking. I walked up to them and punched the guy square in the head. Knocked him out cold."

I stared straight ahead. Astounded. "He deserved it."

I thought about Damon's life. The things he had gone through and how that led him to make a series of poor decisions when he was young. It seemed everyone continued labelling him as the guy he was but not who he is. This was the black mark on his record, I realised. It was no wonder why no one requested him to be their guardian.

"I'm sorry everyone still thinks of you as who you were, not who you are," I said.

He gave me a warm smile. "It's all good, beautiful," he said, his normal good-natured self returning.

"Oh!" Something suddenly clicked for me. "Is that why every dude literally shits themselves when they see you and why they stayed away from me at the Ball?"

A little laugh escaped his lips. "Could be part of it." He leaned in towards me. "But I also kick ass as a guardian."

"Oh yeah? Prove it," I challenged him.

"All right, I will," he accepted. "Tomorrow at eight. You and me in the boxing ring."

I grinned. "Done. Though you better be prepared to have your ass handed to you. I'm a specimen of two of the most excellent guardians."

Damon laughed his sexy, rich laugh. "Don't get cocky, beautiful, it's not a nice shade on you."

I chuckled and stretched my legs out. We had been sitting for some time and my legs were getting stiff and sore. Damon stood up and held a hand out to me. "Time to go." He showed me his phone, the time read one-thirty p.m. I took his hand and we left the forest in comfortable silence. In fact, the whole night was comfortable. It felt easy and right talking to him and sharing personal things. I liked Damon as my friend. And it actually felt really nice opening up about something I don't usually talk about.

When we came out of the lining of the trees, I headed a seperate direction to him since the Palace was to my left and his housing quarters were straight ahead. "See ya!"

Suddenly, he grabbed my forearm and tugged me back. I stumbled to a halt, nearly tripping over my own feet in the process. He gripped my arm with his other hand to steady me and pulled me up close to him. He released me a beat later and I instinctively took a step back to give us some breathing space.

"Where do you think you're going?"

"Home. It's nearly two."

He shook his head. "You're not walking by yourself."

I rolled my eyes. "Damon, it's broad daylight! Besides you can't walk me back, what if someone sees us together and tells my parents?"

"Anything can happen at this time of night, Soph, especially with less people around."

This then threw us into an argument. We went back and forth until we finally came to a resolution that he'll walk me halfway and then watch me head into the Palace.