My phone woke me up and I sighed. I was just about to sit on the side of the bed, when Damon grabbed my arm.
"Where do you think you're going?"
"It's Monday, I have classes." I said gave him a glare that said 'are you stupid?' "And besides, I didn't eat any of the people we met yesterday." I grinned smug.
"You can't just go back to school, you might accidentally kill somebody just by padding them on the back, sweetie."
I gulped. "I couldn't; could I?"
He chuckled as I looked at him with wide eyes. "You must know your strength first."
He suggested that we head out in the woods for me to try out my improved abilities.
We stopped in a small clearing, where he made a gesture with his hand and bid me to choose a tree that I thought I would be able to snap. I just looked at him with my eyebrows way up high; there wasn't a tree in this entire forest that I believed I would be able to break.
"Then point at one you think I can snap!" he said with an eye-roll.
How would I know; I thought, but looked around. He was pretty strong... Finally I saw a spruce, no it was more like a semi-big tree and I pointed at it. He walked over there and pulled the whole damn tree right out of the ground and balanced it in one hand.
"Really; that's all you think of me?" He just walked toward me and my eyes got huge when I realised he was about to hand it over to me. I almost closed my eyes and thought I was about to be squished like a bug under it when he dropped it. It turned out it wasn't hard to carry at all, and I had to open my eyes and see how big it actually was.
Damn I was strong!
He laughed at my expression and I looked surprised at him.
I wanted to yell; look what I can do! But I'm sure it showed on my face.
"Now; break it!"
My eyebrows flew up and I just shook my head. How would I be able to break this huge log? It was absurd!
"You can do it baby, just close your eyes." He exhorted me.
I thought that it was absolutely ridiculous and smiled as I closed my eyes and took it over my knee as if it was a small twig. A thunderous sound made my eyes fly open and I stood there with two big pieces of wood. My mouth fell open.
"This feels like some freaking cartoon." I mumbled and pondered if I needed to pinch myself, because this had to be a dream.
He walked really close and said quietly. "Now let's try out the hearing and that sweet nose of yours." He tapped my nose. "Close your eyes and tell me what you hear and what you smell."
I did as he told me, and I could hear him walking around to stand behind me and I smiled. When I focused my hearing it was as if I could zoom in on the sounds and I could hear everything so close. I knew exactly where the bird chirped and where the rustling of leafs in the tree; just as if it was a film and the cameraman just zoomed in and enhanced the sound. It was amazing and I felt my mouth fall open.
I felt Damon's breath on my neck and shivered. "What about the nose; you once told me and Stefan you we're a 'smeller', remember?" I heard the humour in his voice and I remembered exactly what he meant and I felt slightly embarrassed over my stupid comment when I had just moved in with the brothers.
"Stop blushing and use your olfaction." He lectured me soft.
I rolled my eyes under my closed lids and then I drew in a slow breath through my nose. The first that hit me was the musty smell of forest and autumn. Then I could identify mouldering leafs, pine trees and moss. My face showed how amazed I really was and then I realized that beyond those smells, there were others, that I couldn't even identify; perhaps some bird and then there was a feeling of wet dog far, far away.
I turned and Damon released his grip on me a fraction. I looked at him with a curious face. "What is that dog-smell over there?" I pointed in the direction and I watched Damon close his eyes and sniff the air.
"I think it's a fox."
I kept looking at his marvellous face and a humble feeling swept over me. What had I done to deserve this God of a man standing before me?
He snapped up his eyes and looked at me. "Is something wrong?"
My astounded smile widened. "No, there's nothing wrong in this world."
He laughed a carefree and natural laugh and I joined him. There was a wave of childish delight over the both of us and he took my hand. "Come; let's run." He took off running and when he noted I could keep up, he geared up and went into vamp-speed; that was really cool!
I hadn't realised how fast he had been able to run, well, other than in the awful fight that is, there had been some high-speed-vamp-kill-moves.
Damon slowed down and turned his attention on me. "Where's your mind?" he asked worried.
"What? You can read minds as well?" I was stunned. He had claimed that he couldn't.
He laughed out loud. "I am not Edward Cullen!"
I frowned at him and he laughed again. "I felt how you were slacking." He revealed, and I could understand. "Are you tired? Do you wanna go home?"
I had to focus and really surprised, I noted that I wasn't tired at all; not tired and not out of breath. "I wanna go home." I said with a sly grin.
"Oh, do you now?" His voice was seductive and I really wanted to try him out with this new abilities. "Tired already?" he teased.
I shrugged my eyebrows á la Stefan. "No..." I leaned closer. "But you promised to help me out with the hunger." The last word I hissed in his ear, making him draw breath and then his face split in a huge smile.
"I think we can arrange that, Miss." He said and scooped up me in his arms and we headed home.
* * * * *
For several days we walked through crowded places filled with people for me to curb my cravings.
The other part of my adjustment consisted muscle-control. We headed off for training sessions at some remote location. I tried to teach Damon some Aikido, which was really funny to do with this new strength and speed. I taught him grips and tosses, while he showed me strengths and weaknesses with vampires; ways to protect myself and ways to kill a vampire if I had to.
At nights we just got lost in each other. The time we had spent apart seemed to have left a hunger that was insatiable and we really enjoyed the nights together again when we could get reacquainted with every part of each another.
And beyond that, we had some new abilities to explore.
After three days off, I walked into the auditorium for another class with Elijah; and yes, I know it sounds like that was all the classes we had, but that was in fact the only class that was really interesting. I sat down next to Lisa and for the first time I noted how incredible good she smelled. All around me in that room, people smelt delicious. I did an 'Edward' and stopped breathing for a while and it worked; I couldn't help but to smile. To breathe through my mouth in stead of the nose, didn't affect me as much, so that was the first strategy for this day.
Elijah walked into the room and put his books down on the desk. With this twenty-twenty vision I immediately noticed that he got a troublled look on his face and he turned his head slightly while he closed his eyes.
What was wrong with him today? I wondered.
He flipped his eyes open and stared straight at me. "Miss Riccitelli, can I have a word with you?" His voice sounded like you could cut glass with it and I got up from my chair. As I walked the steps down toward his desk I saw him do a quick briefing with his assistant and then he motioned me toward the door. He made sure no one was around and when the door was closed and his eyes were piercing. "What have you done?!"
My eyes got wide and I didn't know what to say.
"Who turned you?" His question was like a whip smacking in the air.
"Damon."
"Why? And what are you doing here?"
"I haven't attacked anyone; I'm just trying to cope. I couldn't miss your class." I felt like a small child.
"Who knows?"
"Nobody! Just Damon, and now you..."
He stared bewildered at me for a while, and then he made his choice. "You can't be in my class!"
I gasped and tears started to form in my eyes.
Elijah noted my reaction and looked like he regretted his harshness. He sighed. "You can come, but only if you have Damon with you. I cannot risk putting any of my student's at risk."
I gaped. What did he mean; that I would harm anyone? I wasn't the only vampire on campus, not even the only one in his class.
His eyes were sturdy on me. "Call him, and then you're welcome back!" He turned and walked back in to the class again and left me standing there with tears in my eyes.
It didn't take long from my conversation with Damon, until he stood before me; I'm talking about minutes. He wrapped me in his arms when he saw the tears in my eyes and it felt comforting to have him there. "He thinks I'm going to attack someone." I whined. "I haven't even had a taste yet."
Damon released a breath. "Come on, I'll stay with you." With his arm around me we snuck in through the back door, and discreet slid into one of the back seats. "Are you sure this isn't just a way to get me in school?" Damon whispered quietly.
My eyes flipped up to him with a shocked look to see that he was just teasing me.
Elijah's eyes found us, and he did a discreet nod to Damon who returned it, and then he could focus on the class again.
I had a little difficulty to concentrate, when the feelings of hurt, sadness and outrage pulsed through me. Damon took my hand in his and then it was even harder to stay focused, but from a whole different reason.
It had been more easy to focus if I had my pen and pad, but that was still on the seat next to Lisa and she was several roes in front of us. I did my best and soon the class ended and everybody got up.
"Em!" I turned around at the sound of Lisa's voice. "What was that about?" She said and then she noted Damon behind me. "Damon, what are you doing here? You don't seem like the typical college guy."
"Lisa!" I did my best to get her off his back.
"Are you back together now?" She turned to me and she had a mad face.
"What is this; the third degree?" I barked at her, adding laughter afterwards to relief the building anger. "Back off, will you!" I took some deep breaths to calm down. "Yes, Damon and I are back together, everything is fine!"
Lisa glared between the two of us, and then she turned to Damon. "Do you know what do you did to her?" She glared at him. "She was a wreck!"
"Lisa, stop it!" I yelled, but Damon took a step closer to her.
"Lisa, I know." He said in a calm tone. He put his hands on her shoulder. "I know I did wrong, but I'm here now, and I plan to stay."
She opened her mouth a couple of times and then closed it again; she didn't know what to say. Finally she nodded. "Can we go and eat now?" Her sour face made me laugh and I slid my arm around Damon's waist. He kept his one arm around Lisa's shoulders and the other one around me.
We sat down in the cafeteria, Lisa, me and Damon, and Bonnie, Caroline, Elena and Stefan. The others had some kind of conversation that I wasn't a part of. I had every focus I could master on the task of shutting out loud voices and the thumping of hearts in an irregular pattern. The whole cafeteria was filled with them.
Suddenly my eyes started to hurt from the light and there was a tickling sensation around them. I tried to blink it off, but it only spread out over my cheeks and I felt my heart quicken. Panicked I looked up at Damon, I heard Stefan gasp and in the corner of my eye I saw him stare at me with huge eyes.
Before I had the time to react Damon had turned me around, kissing me with both hands on my cheeks, effectively blocking the sight of my face from view. I kissed him back and felt my body relax.
"Uh oh! Public display of affection!" Lisa teased us, but I was just relieved of the intervention.
Damon broked off the kiss and just watched my face with a smile before he let go of me, for us to finish our meal. I knew he had made sure my face was back to normal before he let go of it, I knew I could trust him.
"Damon and Emilia." Stefan's voice was filled with rage and the others around the table jumped, a bit startled. "Can I have a word with the two of you?"
We looked at him, surprised and a little guilty; okay, maybe not surprised...or guilty.
"What is it with you today?" I heard Lisa complain as the tree of us got on our feet. "First Professor White and now you?" the other four people looked puzzled at us.
We didn't have time to stay and chat about it, because Stefan was furious now. He stomped out the door and Damon and I followed hand in hand.
"What the hell; have you turned her?" Stefan hissed before we found a secluded area to discuss this more privately.
"I got pissed!" Damon said in a bored tone and I realised he did it just to tick his brother off. He squeezed my hand a fraction to confirm my theories.
"Pissed?!" Stefan yelled and several people turned their attention to us. Discreet!
"Perhaps we can discuss this little more private." I said through my teeth. "Before we get scowled by Elijah again." I kept Damon's hand in mine while I walked out the door.
"What does Elijah have to do with this?"
"He works here...?" I looked at him like I expected the ball to drop and for him to realize it, but nothing happened. "The Professor White that Lisa was talking about, is actually "Professor" Elijah Mikaelson." I added quiet as I looked around for eavesdroppers. I didn't want to accidentally out Elijah.
Stefan drew a hand through his hair and sighed before his attention returned to us. "And how long ago was this?" he motioned between the two of us.
"Since we hooked up or since I killed her?" Damon had his stuck up, snotty voice and I was afraid that Stefan would pop a vein in his forehead.
"A little over a week ago." I answered him calm.
"And what the hell are you doing here? You shouldn't be around people like this?" He was mad as hell.
"Knock it off!" I snarled. "Why do you think I have a bodyguard with me to school?"
Damon stepped in between Stefan and me. "Back off! I'm handling this!" He snarled to his younger brother.
"How could you do this to her? You're robbing her of a future, don't you get that? You can't turn her, just because you couldn't have Elena." Stefan hit the border there.
"I didn't choose Elena, I chose Emilia!" They kept bickering and soon they got physical.
"Hey guy's; while you're fighting, nobody's watching this homicidal newly turned maniac..." I said tart and leaned my back against the wall.
"Do you think this is a joke?!" Stefan snapped at me.
"No, I don't, but I'm handling it!" I snapped back. "Just because you and I are related, doesn't mean that I'm a ripper!"
Wow, that was mean!