By nightfall, Damon still hadn't returned. He'd been missing the whole day. I wanted to go and search for him, but I wasn't too sure what control I'd be able to have over myself. So, I just stayed in one of the spare bedrooms of the Salvatore Boarding House.
The room wasn't as large as Damon's, but it was big enough for one or two residents. It was dominated by a king size, four poster bed. As well as that was a small dresser, a floor length mirror and a tiny, curtained window. It was a cosy little room.
Stefan had popped in a few times, one of them being to apologise for his pathetic and unneeded behaviour. I thanked and forgave him, informing him that I was beginning to discover where he was coming from. The guy was only trying to help, and for that I was grateful. It was more than anybody else would do.
He also told me that he would keep Elena away from the house for the next few days. Of course, he assured me that it was nothing personal, and that he was doing it for my own benefit. I just nodded and smiled.
Once the sun had sunk right below the horizon, I jogged down the stairs. Stefan was out at the Grill for the evening, and Damon seemed content on keeping his distance. I had the house to myself.
I made my way into the kitchen, flicking on the kettle and grabbing a mug from the cupboard. I made myself a steaming hot coffee and swigged it back within a few seconds. The hot water scolded my mouth, but I got over that pain pretty quickly. Then I headed to the study, where Damon kept his alcohol.
On the small coffee table was a very tempting bottle of whiskey. As I walked out of the study five minutes later, the bottle was empty, and I was fairly drunk. Just as I was about collapse back onto the sofa, I heard the front door open. and turned as Stefan walked in.
"Hello, Stefan," I droned.
"You're drunk," Stefan acknowledged.
"Oh, well done, Stefan. Aren't we the clever one?"
"Get up to bed, Lizzie," he sighed. "Now."
"And what if I don't want to?" I teased, carefully putting one foot in front of the other so that I could walk over to Stefan without stumbling or falling flat on my face. And I made it. I rested my hands on Stefan's shoulders, looking into his deep, green eyes. God, his eyes are gorgeous. I licked my lips hungrily.
"Lizzie," Stefan mumbled, seemingly embarrassed. "Get up to bed."
"Come on, Stefan," I whined. "Lighten up a little. Ever had an affair? Or a threesome? I'm sure Elena will be up for that. I know I would." I winked at him, but he wasn't looking.
Stefan's eyes widened and his breathing became heavy. It reminded me of Damon this morning, only...
I forced myself upon Stefan; pressing our bodies together while my lips moved frantically against his. Just as I managed to push my tongue through his lips, he pushed me away and ran to the other side of the room. His body bent over in a defensive crouch; his eyes bloodshot and his fangs bared. Meanwhile, all I could think about was running my hands through his tawny hair. His lovely, thick, luscious, tawny hair.
And then I literally slapped myself around the face. It stung a lot, and I screamed with both shock and agony. I felt those green eyes on me, causing me to shiver. I stared down at my feet, wishing my cheeks would just burn red already.
"I'm so sorry, Stefan," I blurted out. "That was so wrong of me. It's just that Damon left this morning, and I don't know where he's buggered off to. If you know anything about his whereabouts, then please, just tell me already."
Stefan shook his head. "I don't know where Damon is," he admitted, standing up straight. "He could be anywhere. Why did he leave, anyway?"
I looked away shyly. "I kissed him. Well, he kissed me. It was awkward, Then he took his shirt off and..."
"And he ran off," Stefan guessed, subtly encouraging me not to go into too much detail.
"Yeah," I confirmed. "Then he ran off," I sighed. "I'm going to bed. Goodnight, Stefan."
"Goodnight, Lizzie," Stefan replied as I ran - at an amazing exhilarating vampire speed - up to the spare bedroom where I was staying. As I smashed open the door - well, not literally smashed it, but you know what I mean - and screamed.
"Damon," I gasped, rushing over to the bed and straddling the dark figure casually sprawled across the mattress. "You came back."
Damon just looked at me, his expression both bemused and furious. I was longing for him to say something, to reply to my obvious excitement, but he just stared at me. And stared at me. And stared at me. And stared at me some more. And then, just when I thought he was going to say something, he did something quite different.
Taking my small face in his large hands, he kissed me. And it wasn't anything like the kiss this morning. Oh, no. This was way better. The passion that fired up between Damon and I could set the house alight. Oh, what fun that would be.
*****
I woke up to gorgeous, blue eyes staring into mine. "Supermassive Blackhole" by Muse was playing quietly somewhere in in the house.
"Good morning," Damon smirked, his head propped up using his hand. He flicked his dark hair away from his face. I smiled.
"Good morning," I said shyly. "Sleep well?"
"Brilliantly." He flashed a set of shining, white teeth. "And yourself?"
"Oh, yeah. Great," I drawled sarcastically.
"Sarcasm isn't good for you, dearest Lizzie," Damon nagged.
I grimaced. "You can hardly talk, Mister Salvatore."
"Actually, I can," he teased. "I move my mouth and the words come out."
I slapped his arm. "Alright, Shut up. You're annoying me."
Damon raised his eyebrows. "I'm annoying you? That makes sense. Hey, we never got out yesterday. Let's do it today. You need to test out that necklace of yours."
I had almost forgotten that the chain was hanging around my neck. We both jumped up from the bed and raced downstairs. I was still clothed as I was yesterday, but Damon had changed. Not that what he was wearing was any different from his normal attire. His was, once again, clad in black.
I reached the bottom of the staircase before him. Stefan was in the kitchen making coffee. I joined him, sitting down at the table. A few seconds later, Damon came and sat by my side. Stefan handed us a mug of coffee each, the occupied a chair opposite mine. We all sat in silence.
Damon was the one to break it. "So, brother, what's on the to-do list today?"
"I'm going to help out at the carnival," Stefan shrugged. "You can tag along, or you can take care of Lizzie, or you can run off again."
"I did not run off," Damon lied. "I just took the day off."
"You ran off," I muttered. I heard Damon growl under his breath. "It's decided then. We're not helping out at the carnival. I want to avoid public attention. I don't want anybody to know where I am, or even that I'm still here. Everyone either needs to think that I've left home, or that I'm dead. I don't care how they take it, as long as they don't get suspicious."
The brothers just nodded.
*****
Damon and I cassually strolled through the forest. It had turned out to be a lovely day, and my necklace was working perfectly. I reminded myself to thank Bonnie, as she was bound to find out that I was still here.
I took Damon's hand in mine, gripping it tightly. He seemed okay with this gesture, but he also didn't seem one to show such obvious yet subtle signs of affection. But, he didn't let go, so neither did I.
"So, are we, like, totally immortal?" I asked, feeling rather stupid afterwards. Of course, I'd seen the movies, and read the books. The vampires of Twilight sparkle in the sun, and can only be truly killed by being set alight. However, Dracula was the cause of many theories, such as having a type of allergy to garlic, and being turned to ash by sunlight. Not to mention, crosses, holy water, running water and wooden stakes.
"Well, not really," Damon replied. "We never die of natural causes or anything, but we can be killed. Stay away from vervain; it's a bitch. That stuff stings like Hell. And, another tip; avoid wooden stakes. Those things kill - literally. Never take that necklace off, or else the sunlight will burn you to a crisp. Oh, then there's those witches. They can do things to you that'll make you forget everything else and focus on the pain. And, the funny thing is, that it actually hurts."
I laughed. "Damon Salvatore feels pain? Huh. I didn't think that was possible. Oh, well. I guess you learn something new everyday. So, what is this vervain?"
"Vervain is some kind of herb that us vampires react to. It doesn't grow much anymore, but old Zach Salvatore used to grow it in the basement. Dearest Stefan takes care of that now."
"Okay. So, what'll happen if I come across this vervain?"
"If you come into physical contact with it, it'll burn your skin. If you consume vervain, like, if it's in your victim's blood or someone has spiked your drink with it, then it'll poison you. When you compel someone, you can only comel them successfully if they're not on vervain. If they've digested the stuff, or they have it with them, then compulsion won't do anything."
"You're obsiously an expert with this kind of stuff."
Just as Damon was about to say something - something incredibly witty, no doubt - I heard a noise behind me. It wasn't just the breeze whistling, or the leaves crunching beneath my feet, or a bird disrupting the position of a tree. It was almost the growl of a lion, or a tiger, or a...vampire?
I felt a pinch on the back of my neck, and everything faded to black.