I was your only friend || Enzo St. John

Hush Awhile [XII]

"Lydia James reporting on duty. Here's the damn paper that kept me up all night the past few days. Hope it finds you well", Lydia entered Enzo's office without permission, once classes were over for the day, carrying a box in her arms.

"You're late. As usual", he chuckled lightly, grabbing the object of her inconvenience. "Oh, and I thought the hangover kept you awake, not the essay", he shrugged as she slid the paper on his desk.

"Haha, good one. Look at me laughing. How much bourbon did you have to drink last night? A whole bottle?", she mocked.

"Four actually. What can I say, I'm a fast healer", he winked at her.

"What are you looking at? Planning on moving out of the Salvatore mansion?", she said in a pitch tone, surprised to see that on his laptop's screen appeared a bunch of real estate and hotels near Mystic Falls.

"Damon's brother is coming back, Elena's slowly and steadily moving in. You know what they say, four's a crowd", Enzo nudged his shoulders, shutting down the device. "What's with that box?"

"It's just some stuff my mom sent me this morning. It belonged to grandma. I got curious after our little conversation the other night", she put the box on the desk and made herself comfortable in the seat facing her professor's.

"She got cocky", he thought for himself, enjoying this new attitude on her. "You know, curiosity killed the cat", he mumbled, noticing that she was wearing the necklace.

"Good, because it's got 9 lives", a smirk appeared on Lydia's lips as she somehow grew to be more comfortable around Enzo, considering their latest encounters.

"Is everyone in your family this curious or is it just you?", he asked, leaning back in his chair.

"Well, let's see. My mother is pretty strict, which only taught me and my siblings to be more secretive. My brother's married, moved away to New York. He's a journalist. My little sister is in the phase where she questions everything, you know, like kids do, try and discover the world, everything's an adventure for her. One of my aunts is a scientist and the other is a writer. So I believe the answer to your question is yes", she chuckled, being in a surprisingly good mood.

"Wow, quite big family you've got there", Enzo nodded his head while listening, suffering a sudden change of mood. "You're close to them?"

"I didn't use to, but then my father died when I was in high school, so that managed to push us together. Even though my mother's strict with us, I understand where she's coming from. I would be scared to lose us too if I were her. We are pretty close now. She was the one who decided that I should move to my grandma's house once I got into university, to have freedom and really get to experience this whole thing at the fullest", she smiled shyly.

"That must've been tough", he sighed.

"It was, but I love my family really, we still gather around for dinner once a week. It's a complete freak show when the whole family gets together in a room, trust me", she laughed.

"I envy you", Enzo looked away for a spare second, overwhelmed by the thought that the closest he's ever gotten to having a family was the same person that left him to die in a fire.

"I'm sorry, I'm blabbering. What about your family?", she rested her elbows on the desk, placing her chin on the back of her palms, looking straight into his pitch black eyes.

"Damon's my family", he swallowed loudly, his lips mimicking a straight line.

"I get it. Friends are the family we chose. I take it you don't talk to your parents?", the way she gazed into his eyes emanated tenderness, kindness; she barely blinked. "Come on, I feel like you know everything there is to know about me. Tell me your story. What made Lorenzo St. John the man he is today?"