I woke up late. I had time to brush my teeth, throw on jeans and a T-shirt, and tie my hair in a ponytail. That's it; I was getting it cut this afternoon. I'd go with Lily, but it was getting cut. My dad was sorely disappointed when I arrived---he'd gotten there way earlier than me---but he didn't say anything, I could only see it in his face. His eyes were clouded with worry, though. Damon must have told him something to make him worried; that still wouldn't make me tell him what had almost happened, though.
Damon....
Every time I thought about him, there was a tickling pain like a thorn in the palm of my hand. After last night, I really had no right to still hate him. He was there for me, he didn't ask questions, he didn't mock me for crying like a girl. He just held me until I fell asleep. I trusted him enough to fall asleep while he was holding me. Maybe he didn't just want sex from me....
But that was ridiculous. A stupid girly thought that had gotten me into this Andrew mess in the first place. I mean, I had confronted Damon, told him all he wanted was sex and what did he say? Nothing, He didn't deny it.
He didn't agree, either.
No! It's that kind of thinking that got you a crazy ex-boyfriend!
I was quiet from the moment I stepped into the school building. I was quiet through all my classes. When lunch time came, I was picking at my salad, swirling the Italian dressing everywhere.
That's when Lily had enough. She stole my tray to get my attention. "Hey, what is up with you today? You're severely emo right now."
I rolled my eyes. "I'm not emo, Lily, shut up."
Greta raised a brow. "Aren't we chippy today?"
Normally the 'chippy' jab made me laugh. When we were grocery shopping with my dad a long time ago---back when mom still loved us---and we bought this off-brand of cereal that looked like Cookie Crisp---but tasted stale---only it was called Chip Mates. Greta whispered to me that it looked more like Shit Mates, so every time were going to say 'shit' we said 'chip.' Very stupid and immature, but that pretty much explains our friendship anyway.
I glared at her. "I had a rough night."
"Do tell."
I shook my head. "I'd rather not."
"It's the Edgar Allen Poe assignment, isn't it?"
"What?"
"We're s'posed to compare old authors or poets' writing to their real lives. You were assigned Edgar Allen Poe---"
"I know, it's due Wednesday. Yes, he's insane, and yes he's morbid, and yes his poems are depressing. But...." Should I really go into it? She gave me a way out. "And he's making me down lately."
Lily giggled. "I totally feel ya! Emily Dickenson is pretty depressing, too. Did you know that, like, half the people in her family...."
She continued to talk, giving me time to drift off again. I glanced at Greta once and saw her giving me a doubtful stare. She could always see right through me. But it didn't even matter. I wasn't going to talk about it. Not to my dad, not to Lily, not to Greta....not to Damon.
Speaking of which, I didn't think I'd seen him all day. Which was good, but weird. It wasn't like him to actually leave me alone.
"Any news of where the heck the Salvatore's are?" Lily said, breaking me out of my daze.
She and Greta were looking at me expectantly. I shrugged.
"When did you last see Damon?"
The memory flashed in my mind, my incoherent words, Andrew's voice on the phone, his face in the window, Damon's arms around me.....protecting me.
"Liz!"
"What?" I groaned.
Greta and Lily were staring at me. Lily giggled but Greta shook her head, like she was annoyed. Whatever. What did it matter anyway? The guy I used to love was going to kill me and the guy I like---yes, I do like Damon, damnit---would be done with me when I gave in and let him get me close and vulnerable with him. Or had that already happened last night?
"I have band practice tonight. Ethan got us a gig at this new place called Edie's," I said randomly, wanting to change the subject.
"Awesome!"
Lily continued talking about how awesome F.I.R.E was, and Ethan, and how I was perfect for the lead singer....blah, blah, blah.
Band practice went decent. We got our set list and were happy with it. I made a list and highlighted the songs I was singing in blue and highlighted the ones Ashley and I were singing in pink.
What've You Done Now-Within Temptation
I Hate Everything About You-Three Days Grace
Lips of an Angel-Hinder
I Won't Tell You-Lacuna Coil
Diary of Jane-Breaking Benjamin
So Sick-Flyleaf
Don't Stop Believing-Journey
I Will Not Bow-Breaking Benjamin
Someone's Watching Over Me-Hillary Duff
I thought I'd deck Abby and Benjamin one, though.
"So, does Damon have a girlfriend?" Abby asked. She was feeling particularly smug since she was singing Lips of an Angel with Ashley.
I ground my teeth together. I had a feeling Ashley was doing the same. Okay, so I was never really Damon's girlfriend but we had started going out, and Abby knew that. "Not that I know of," I muttered.
"Don't you think we'd be great together?" Abby giggled, twirling her dark hair vainly.
Oh my God, please help her because I'm about to commit murder at seventeen.
"Yeah right!" Benjamin shoved Abby's shoulder playfully. "I think you two would be better. Don't you think, Liz?"
I was totally on Ashley's team. We sort of had a pity party after band practice while Abby and Benjamin were laughing themselves silly about Damon Freaking Salvatore.
"He just waltzes right I and completely takes my girl away from me," Ashley grumbled, blowing out a puff of smoke from her cigarette.
She offered me one and I took it, without really thinking. "He does that a lot, even if he has no intention of even sleeping with them."
"I hate that guy."
I blew out smoke smoothly. "So do I."
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Two day later, my Edgar Allen Poe essay was due and still no sign of Damon Salvatore. I am really pathetic. I hate the guy, but I also can't resist his charm, like he says.
Let me tell you, Greta and Lily had had enough out of my moody behaviour, too. Everything was just catching up to me. Yesterday I sat in my room looking at old pictures of Andrew and I, when he wasn't a freaking monster.
Flashback-
I was laughing at some random joke Andrew said. It didn't matter what he said, I always laugh. He could do impersonations that would make someone pee from laughing so hard. His Fes---from 'That 70's Show'---impersonation was pure genius. He could do Monty Python, though I was never really a fan, Arnold Schwarzenegger, and Sean Connery.
Now he had just sung 30H3, Starstruck in a Fes voice.
"Oh my God, Andrew, you should post this on YouTube!" My, then, friend, Nicole giggled.
I rolled my eyes. Nicole was yet another girl who always tried to steal my boyfriend, though, clearly, Andrew preferred me. Even if he didn't love me.
"Andrew is beyond YouTube," I laughed, linking my arms around his neck from behind.
"You see, Nicky? That's why she's my girl," Andrew said. "She knows I'm way better than YouTube."
"Hey, most YouTubers are famo from their vids!" Nicole argued. "I mean, look at Fred. He's already been on iCarly."
Andrew raised a dark brow. "You seriously watch that tweener show?"
"Absolutely not!" Nicole lied. She watched that show all the time, but she wouldn't now that she knew Andrew thought it was dumb. "Or how bout the guys that made Charlie the Unicorn?"
"Dumb."
"Not so!" I argued. "That is like the most genius thing in the world!"
"Oh, no, she's brainwashed you," Andrew said, all tragic like.
"Oh, stop!" I slapped his shoulder playfully. "Have you even seen Charlie the Unicorn?"
"If I hadn't, why would I be saying that it was dumb?" he laughed.
"Go wit da flow, man," I said, acting like a gangster.
"Oh, brother," Andrew rolled his eyes.
Andrew really had the eye rolling thing down. I mean, his eyes were gorgeous. They were a perfect shaped chocolate brown that just seemed to shine. And he looked even more handsome when he was annoyed, as wrong as that sounds.
"Hey I need a ride home," Nicole said to Andrew, batting her eyelashes. Nicole was so much prettier than I was---her auburn hair was always shiny and perfectly straight, bouncing on her shoulders. And she had perfect emerald eyes. I always worried she'd steal my Andrew away.
"I'll take you home," Andrew sighed.
"Thanks so much!"
Inside I was fuming, but I would never let them see. I should have, though. It may have changed Andrew's mind to fall into Nicole's 'bedside charm.'
Now-
Damon's POV-
What were a few days of school anyway? I didn't care for it at all; half the stuff I already remembered for history. Why and how Stefan sweet talked me into going to a high school, I'll never really know. Maybe it was because he met his precious Elena there, which is a totally bizarre story that I don't wish to count upon, being as though I lost the girl.
It was better the way it ended up, anyway. Seventeen year old human girls were fine for a night or two, but you get passed that and it just got ridiculous. I mean, they were hundreds of years younger than me, they knew nothing about life. Again, which is fine for a little while, but then they start talking about how hard life is, even when they have no idea how hard it's going to get. That's when it's boring.
Elizabeth...was different. She wasn't at all like Katherine, and maybe just a little bit like Elena. She never talked about how hard life was, even when I got the flashes of pictures in her minds---pictures I had to piece together like a puzzle---when she had her guard down. I swear that girl knew I could see passed her mind. I got that her mother had left her and that she had an insane someone coming for her, though that could be her mother for all I know.
But that's why I was away from "school" anyway; to find whoever it was that was making her reveal how hard her life really was.
And I was surprised my little brother and his girl toy were helping me do it.
"What're you gonna do when we find this mystery person?" Elena asked.
She, of course, was as gorgeous as ever, her blonde hair seeming to sparkle in the daylight. Not like the Stephanie Meyer vampire, though.
"I'm probably gonna kill him," I gave Elena a smirk.
She rolled her eyes, though not completely unimpressed, because she was trying to hide a smile. Stefan would surely frown upon that. The shock! His sweet lovely love grinning at the thought of someone being killed. I fear he shan't go on.
"Damon," Stefan muttered.
I rolled my eyes. "Come off it, little brother. Whoever this creep is---Andrew whatever---he obviously deserves what's coming to him."
"And how would you know that?"
"Unlike you, dear Stefan, I don't drink animal blood. My senses and Power are much better than yours. Even if Liz has a firewall of a mind, I still get a few things here and there."
"And you got the name Andrew from her?"
"Nah, that was from her father."
"Mmm hmm." After a pause, Stefan said, "Why, Damon?"
I sighed, getting annoyed with my pestering little brother. "Why what, Stefan?"
"Why're you doing this?"
"I don't exactly know what you're asking---"
"For Elizabeth? Really, Damon? You do know she's human."
Wow, was my brother really trashing a human? What a hypocrite. "I thought you, of all people, would agree. You are the human lover."
Stefan frowned. "But you're not....Unless you've changed your mind."
I glared at him. He was really trying my patience, getting me into a dangerous mood. "Are you suggesting that I'm in love with this girl? Because if you are, I would seriously suggest you wouldn't. It's been a while since I've killed a good creep. Or maybe I won't kill him. Maybe I'll turn him into a vampire and set him loose in South Africa."
Elena's eyes grew wide. "Damon, you wouldn't!"
I smirked. "You know I would."
Both Elena and Stefan were silent. Of course they knew.
"Damon---"
"Stefan, enough," Elena ordered. She turned to me, and I found I had a hard time refusing her lapis lazull eyes. Just like the old days, I guess. Damn. "We'll meet you later, okay?"
Ooh, Stefan was about to get his little ass whooped by his lover. "Fine. Just get the pest away from me for a while." I was beginning to regret letting Stefan come along, though not necessarily Elena.
Elena nodded, though she was annoyed with me. Pardon the hell out of me for being frustrated with my idiotic brother.
I had work to do.