Not About You

Chapter Two

A couple of weeks after Lucy had officially moved into the boarding house, she was spending one of her rare nights alone. The brothers were bonding and, despite their insistence she was welcome to join, she had opted to give them some time without her. They'd dropped her off at the Grill and she'd had a meal with a couple of drinks. Now, she was walking home.

The boarding house was a bit of a walk, but it was a beautiful evening. She had a little smile on her face as she made a mental list of things she needed to do the next day as she meandered toward home. She'd just reached the edge of the business district when a firm grip on her arm tugged her sideways into an alley. The figure that stood before her as she was shoved back into the wall made her lip curl in disgust.

He was dirty and drunk. He sneered as he looked her over and crowded into her, trying to use his size to intimidate her. She'd seen him around town once or twice but had never gotten any particularly creepy vibes off him. Guess she was wrong. "What the fuck do you think you're doing?"

He jerked his head back as if the bored tone of her voice was insulting. Perhaps it was. After all, he was probably expecting pleading and fear. "I'm just trying to get to know you, sweetheart. There's nothing wrong with that is there?" He tried, and failed, to sound innocent.

"This isn't how you get to know someone, asshole." She clenched her teeth together and a muscle twitched in her jaw. "Tell you what, I've had a pretty good day today. You should take advantage and let me go before you piss me off."

"I don't think so." He took a step to close the already minimal distance between them.

Lucy sighed. Why were there so many assholes in this town? Thrusting her arm forward, she used the heel of her hand to land a blow to his solar plexus. He stumbled back and she swept his legs out from under him before landing a kick to his crotch followed by another to his stomach.

As he curled in on himself, she searched through his pockets. She tossed his keys into the nearby dumpster and pulled out his wallet. "What are you doing?" he moaned as she flipped through the contents.

She used her phone to snap a picture of his ID before dropping it and the wallet on top of him. "I suggest you become an upstanding member of society, Daniel Tines, or we'll be having another conversation. I'll even introduce you to a couple of friends. I'm sure they'd just love to get to know you."

She left him groaning behind her and continued her trek to the boarding house.

***

Lucy didn't mention the incident to either Salvatore, knowing that as soon as she did Mr. Tines would no longer be a living resident of Mystic Falls. He was an asshole but that didn't warrant a death sentence quite yet. Besides, it was always good to have a sacrifice on standby.

Near the end of summer, Lucy and Damon were watching mindless TV and swapping stories when Stefan entered the room and sat in one of the chairs. He was quiet for a long time before announcing, "I've enrolled at the high school."

The other two exchanged a look before Damon turned off the television and leaned forward to stare at his brother. "Why?"

The disbelief was so heavy in the vampire's voice, Lucy couldn't help but laugh. She agreed completely, but still.

Stefan shrugged as pink tinted his cheeks. "Call it curiosity. It's been awhile."

She huffed. "Curiosity about a certain teenager, more like. This is borderline creeper, Stefan. Don't be a Cullen."

He shook his head and stood. "Not funny."

"I'm hilarious, Salvatore," she called after him as he left.