Beauty and A Beast (ON HOLD)

Chapter 1

'Nope. Nope. Nope. Definitely not. I'd rather slit my throat with a piece of paper-'

'Woah! Easy there, kiddo! That's a little bit extreme, don't you think?'

I rolled my eyes at Alaric's comment as I continued to flick through the small amount of books in the cardboard box on my lap as we drove along the highway to my new home. 'Hardly,' I replied as I pulled out a black book with pale hands holding a bright red apple on the cover. I turned my nose up, gagging slightly as I examined the blurb, before opening the window and throwing it out.

Alaric glanced at me like I was insane before laughing quietly, turning back to look at the road. 'I thought you cared about books,' he said, raising his eyebrows at me before turning to face the front.

I rolled my eyes again as I placed the box of books on the floor beside my feet before letting my head fall against the car seat. 'I do. It's just when I read drabble like that, I want to go and burn every single copy of that book...as well as the author,' I said, giving Alaric a sweet and innocent smile despite the darkness of my words.

His eyes widened slightly at my comment, turning his head to give me an amused look before he turned back to the road, taking a swift right onto a road that disappeared behind a bend. 'I thought soon-to-be English lit students were meant to accept every book, whether drabble or not,' he said, mocking my British accent and my use of words.

I turned my head to stick my tongue out at him before turning to look out of the window, admiring the dense forest as we passed by. ''Soon-to-be' are the operative words there. But at least you remembered what I want to study at university. How is it that you can remember that and not my age,' I mocked, looking for his reaction out of the corner of my eye.

He sighed in annoyance, turning his head to give me a 'seriously' look. I bit my lip in attempt to hide my smile before wriggling in my seat to get comfortable and shutting my eyes. 'Oh relax, Ric. I'm just taking the piss.' I slowly opened my left eye to see his reaction which was annoyed at my choice of words. 'Micky,' I corrected, giving him an innocent smile before shutting my eyes again.

He laughed quietly as I felt the car take a left. 'What am I going to do with you...' he muttered, probably hoping I wouldn't hear.

'Treat me like a God, I don't know...' I replied, not bothering to hide my smirk. The car suddenly took a sharp left, jerking me out of my relaxed position. I sat upright, giving Alaric a death stare. 'Was that really necessary?' I asked, venom lacing my voice.

'My apologies, your godliness,' he replied, giving me a smirk of his own before returning his attention to the road. I placed my head against the window as I watched a large sign with 'Welcome to Mystic Falls' on it fly by.

'Mystic Falls...Doesn't look so mystical to me...' I muttered under my breath before drawing shapes on the window with the tip of my index finger where my breath stuck to the glass.

A quiet laugh came from Alaric causing me to turn towards him. 'Looks can be deceiving,' he said with a secretive smile, like I had completely missed an inside joke.

'Sure...' I said, rolling my eyes before placing my head back on the window, rubbing away the tiny pentagram that I had drawn.

'It's a major life lesson,' he said as he turned down a road with a large bridge in the distance.

'When are you ever going to need that one?' I scoffed.

He turned to look at me; a look of pure seriousness etched on his face. 'You never know which strangers are dangerous.'

Taken aback by his sudden tone, I searched his eyes for the hidden meaning behind his words, yet found none. I simply nodded my head before turning to look out of the front window, admiring the bridge as we crossed over it. I felt Alaric's eyes on me for a few more seconds before turning back to the road; the tension gone as quick as it had come.

'So,' Alaric started; his tone immediately happy compared to the previous moment. 'What's on my favourite goddaughter's agenda today?'

I laughed quietly before turning to look at him. 'Alaric, I'm your only goddaughter.' Alaric simply laughed at my comment before turning the car onto a main road that seemed to lead to the centre of the town. 'I'm not sure. Unpack, obviously, but after that? I don't know. Probably read if I can find a stupid book to read!' I said, kicking the box by my feet for emphasis.

Alaric laughed as we flew across the town centre, passing what appeared to be a relatively small police. 'What was wrong with the book you threw out the window then?'

My head whipped round to Alaric, giving him a look of pure horror as I watched him try to not look at me. 'Are you kidding? Do you not know the atrocity that is 'Twilight'?'

'Oh, that might be the book that Damon keeps on his bedside table...' At his comment, my eyes widened in surprise and slight horror. Alaric gave me a quick smile before turning back to the road. 'Don't worry. Damon's not as crazy as he sounds,' he said, before laughing quietly, as though he didn't believe his own words.

'A guy keeping 'Twilight' by his bed...Sounds pretty psycho to me...' I mumbled, admiring the houses that we passed.

'You still didn't answer my question.'

I sighed deeply as I picked at my nails, knowing full well that I was about to go into a rant. ''Twilight' depicts supernatural creatures as gorgeous, mysterious and enchanting with really good bodies which is crazy and just plain weird! I mean, come on, vampires that sparkle in the sunlight? It sounds like something a four year old would write!' I said exasperatedly.

Alaric turned to give me an amused look, biting his lip so as not to show his grin. 'I'm guessing that 'Dracula' is your favourite book then?' he asked as he pulled into the driveway of a medium sized house.

I scoffed as I pulled on the handle of the car and stepped out. 'Bram Stoker is a hero of gothic literature. He portrays vampires the right way!

'And what's that?' he asked over the top of his car, before opening the back door to get out my stuff.

'As monsters. Simple as that. They would be heartless, relentless killers and completely psychotic! Although,' I said, reaching into the car to pick up the box of books from the floor of my seat. 'Saying all this, I don't even believe in supernatural creatures,' I laughed.

'Really? That doesn't actually surprise me,' Alaric laughed before breathing heavily from taking out three of my boxes. I simply raised my eyebrows at him, which made him continue. 'Well, you did laugh at the name of the town! But if you don't believe in them, then why do you like 'Dracula' so much?'

'The huge book fan that I am, I love any idea that is completely individual. And,' I said, clinging to the box of books as I kicked the door shut before taking a few steps back. 'I think it's safe to say that, despite the creatures in Stoker's novel being completely ridiculous, it is very individual. I'm sorry, I mean, vampires? Things that drink people's blood? It's just so...so-'

I suddenly felt myself back into a hard wall. Embarrassed that I was so engrossed in my discussion with Alaric that I didn't even watch where I was going, I quickly turned round only to see a dark and handsome man wearing all black. He looked down at me and smirked, holding a copy of 'Twilight' in his hand.

I gasped loudly at the man, causing Alaric to laugh from the other side of the car. 'Cassandra Nightingale, meet Damon Salvatore.'

At his words, Damon simply smirked. 'Welcome to Mysitc Falls.'

Hey guys - so this is my second story! I know the cchapter is pretty brief but hopefully it's enough to pique your interests!

I apologise for my hate on Twilight! I do have that view, unfortunately, so for any Meyer fans out there, my apologies!

Hope you guys enjoyed it otherwise (depite there not being a major cliffhanger!)

Don't forget to VOTE and COMMENT on your thoughts on the description, the chapters and even the cover! I did make it so it is far from good but hearing any thoughts would be fab!

Thanks guys for taking the time to read these two chapters! I hope you guys stay with it!

Till the next chapter x