You caused my heart to bleed

Turning her attention up to the man, Letha let out a low scoff and rolled her eyes. "Gentleman my ass," she drawled, sticking her tongue out at him a little childishly, "Lying to yourself isn't attractive, you know." She sighed, though, at the mention of her best friend having been upset with her. Hopefully, she could manage to get back in her friend's good graces or that she could get her friend to forgive her. She knew that Belle seemed to at least be okay with spending time with her. But, that didn't mean that her friend forgave her, after all - and that worried her quite a bit.

Hearing Damon's later words, though, she stared up at him. "Is that so? Maybe I should use that to my advantage, hm?" she hummed out, grinning up at him as she moved to cup his face gently in her hands. She leaned up slightly, almost teasingly brushing her lips against his before she laughed and pulled away. "Keep dreaming about me, Damon, and we're going to have several problems. One of which being that I will feel obligated to flirt with the first guy that shows interest, since, you know, it'd be more fun for me." Mostly because it would mean she wouldn't get hurt by Damon, again.

---

A slight grin filled Jeremy's features and he nodded slightly. "Great," he hummed out, rather happy to know that they could just relax now. Considering how hectic the day had been, he knew that they deserved to be able to relax while they could. Otherwise, things would only get more hectic for them, which wouldn't be very good, in his opinion. They needed some down time, in his opinion. He was sure that Isabelle would agree with him, too. "Since we're not going to be doing homework for a little while, what should we spend our time doing?"

Really, he was perfectly fine with just relaxing with her for now, but he knew that she might want something to distract her from the fact that her friend could have died earlier. Well, both of her friends, really, because he could have gotten killed by the hunter, too. Thankfully, he hadn't. On the other hand, Isabelle could have been killed, too. That thought bothered him and he was quick to draw her closer, because he was so relieved that she was safe. "I think we could maybe go outside for a bit, wander around, if you want. It might help the both of us relax a bit. Or we could just go watch those movies that we were planning to watch earlier."

Damon chuckled softly and shook his head, "I never lie to myself and I'm always attractive." He told her with a grin plastered across his face, he knew that his sister would forgive Letha if she hadn't already. He could see how excited Belle was to have Letha back in her life, he could have stopped his sister's pain if he had just admitted how badly he hurt Letha but he hadn't. It was something that he constantly thought about even if it happened a very long time ago, it was just something that he wouldn't forgive himself for doing.

"I think you should take advantage of me, I won't be complaining." He smiled as he begun to lean in closer to Letha once her small hands had cupped his cheeks, he was so ready to have her lips pressed against his one more time. Although he was disappointed when she leaned back and teased him, "That isn't nice. You know that I'm always going to be dreaming about you, darling. Nothing will stop you from coming into my dreams," It was completely true and he wasn't going to be shy admitting it, he frowned lightly as he looked at her. "Any guy who gives you attention isn't going to get very far," He stated as he wouldn't stand around and watch Letha take interest in anyone that wasn't him, it was selfish again but he couldn't help it.

---

Isabelle smiled when she felt Jeremy draw her even closer to his body, she looked at him and had a good idea of what was going through his mind. The same thing was going through her mind, the hunter could have easily killed Jeremy earlier and she could have also been killed. Thankfully no one had killed by anyone's hands, even if she wanted to end the hunter's life for poisoning her best friend and laying a hand on Jeremy. But she didn't want to think about that anymore, "I want to take you somewhere special to me." She told him as she stood up from the couch and pulled him up with her, she entwined their fingers together before she lead him out of the house.

She started to take Jeremy through the forest that surrounded her family home, she knew exactly where she was going as she had found this spot when she was a child. She always went there to think or to just have some time on her own, but now she wanted Jeremy to know. It only took them about ten minutes of walking before they entered a clearing, it was filled with green grass and there were flowers blooming along the edge of the river that flowed through the town. "This is my special place, I found it when I was nine." She smiled as she was instantly put at peace and all her worries left her mind and body.

After rolling her eyes, Letha looked to Damon for a moment. Sighing, she shifted to bury her face against him, despite herself. "I wish that you would stop that, pretending that things are back to normal," she drawled quietly. "As much as I would have preferred for things to be normal, for things like you dreaming about me to be a compliment. In reality, it's just torture. You know that, right?" She frowned deeply but buried her face further against him. It saddened her quite a bit, because she still loved this stupid man, despite how much he had hurt her in the past.

Her fingers curled into Damon's shirt and she bit down on her lip, hard enough that it drew blood, but the wound healed quickly. "How can it still hurt so much, after all this time?" she murmured, though she honestly didn't expect to get an answer. She doubted that he'd have an answer, honestly. And, really, it worried her.

---

Mildly surprised when Isabelle pulled him up, Jeremy followed with curiosity. He hadn't really been sure where they were going, where she was leading him to. But, when Isabelle stopped, he stopped next to her, surprised with the sight that rested in front of them. It was easily a calming place, but it surprised Jeremy that they were able to find something like this here. Staring at the scene that was there, he tilted his head slightly before he looked down to Isabelle. Compared to Isabelle, the clearing wasn't nearly as beautiful - in his opinion, that is.

Turning his attention back to the clearing, he relaxed a bit. "I didn't know that a place like this could exist in such a terrible town like Mystic Falls," he pointed out honestly. "Thinking that something like this has been around since you were nine surprises me even more." It was a lucky thing, which he was glad for, for Isabelle's sake.

Damon watched Letha for a moment when she buried her face into his body, he listened to her voice and what she said to him. "I'm sorry, I know that I hurt you and I don't want to continue hurting you. I've just missed you, Letha." He told her after he apologized to her which is something that he doesn't do a lot, he drew her in even closer as his hand begun to soothingly rub her back as he did want to comfort her. He hadn't even thought about what his words would be doing to her or how his words were making her feel, he had always been the type of guy to act first and think later. Many things about him hadn't changed since he was a human.

He took a few seconds to think about Letha's question, why did it still hurt her? He knew why it still hurt him, but he wasn't sure if he should tell her or not. "I don't know, but I do know that I won't forgive myself for what I did to you. I know why it still hurts me, but you probably don't want to hurt the reason." He told her quietly as his fingers moved to run through her long hair gently.

---

Isabelle smiled as she turned to face Jeremy, "I'm sure it wouldn't still look like this. But I've been coming back every few months to keep care of it, I usually never stay for long so no one notices that I'm here." She explained to him but if she had known that Jeremy was born into this town, she would have stayed around a lot more. But she knew him now and that was good enough for her, "This town is only terrible because of the people living here." She looked into his eyes and even though she wouldn't leave town without him, she knew Mystic Falls would be so much nicer and safer if no supernatural creatures existed or lived in town.

She smiled as she walked further out into the clearing, the sun was beaming down on them and Belle felt herself calm down even more. "I love coming here, I don't know why but it always calms me down." She watched the gentle water moving down through the river, before she turned back around to look at Jeremy. She smiled as she waved him over to her.

It was difficult for Letha to believe that Damon had missed her. He had been so indulged in Katherine that it was difficult for her to believe that he had even noticed Letha's disappearance in the first place. Then again, maybe she just didn't want to believe him - there was a slight hope that came with the possibility that he had missed her that she didn't really want to admit to feeling. It almost scared her, she realized, but she tried to force the thought away and instead tried to relax in the familiarity of being in his arms.

Eventually, she curled up a bit and let out a quiet sigh. "I didn't know that you were hurting, honestly," she murmured after she heard and registered his words. There was that flicker of hope again, she realized as she chewed on her lip again. "I do... kind of want to know, now that you've brought it up."

---

Well, that explained it, Jeremy realized. It surprised him, though. She must have been extra careful and stealthy to manage to get into town to fix up the area every few months. "I should have noticed you sooner, in that case," he told her quietly. "You must have been cautious with coming around here. Then again, I'd bet you're really great at sneaking around, honestly." After all, the girl was a vampire and had such a long time to get skilled at it, too. He looked around, eying their surroundings for a long moment, nodding.

"It probably calms you down so much because it's such a great place. Serene and natural." It was easy to see why she enjoyed it so much, he realized. It was easy for him to enjoy it as well, though he wondered if it was because Isabelle was there that he liked it so much. He wasn't entirely sure, but it didn't matter. "It suits you."

Damon shook his head though he soon realised that Letha couldn't actually see, "My hurt was nothing compared to how I made you feel. I am sorry," He couldn't apologize enough and he wouldn't stop apologizing until Letha believed how truly sorry he was, but then she did want to know and he knew he had stuck his foot in it. But it would give him a chance to explain everything to her, that is if she was ready to listen. "It's because I still love you, I've never stopped loving you. I know you don't want to hear this but it's true, Katherine was... she wasn't real to me. I never loved her, I lusted over her because she was always in control. She knew what she wanted and she held power, that was attractive to me and I had thought that was love." He told her and he hoped he wasn't making it worse between them.

"I searched for you, I thought if I found you than I could make it all better. But I never did find you," Damon told her after he had taken a long pause, Letha wasn't interrupting him and she wasn't moving away from him which he felt like was a good sign.

---

Isabelle smiled at Jeremy, "I'm a vampire. I've had a lot of practice at sneaking around, but when I did come here. I never stepped near the town and people don't really come out here, at least I haven't really seen many people. The few that I have were visiting town," She told him as she knew she had been lucky not to get sighted, but in her eyes this area was her's and she wanted to make sure that it stayed beautiful for whenever she did return home. She smiled widely as she looked at Jeremy, "Thank you." She looked at him and took a few steps closer to him, "I was really scared today. I was seconds away from losing you, Jeremy. I never want that to happen again," She told him as her eyes were locked with his.

She knew her feelings for him would only continue to grow, she knew that he had already been through enough with his other girlfriends. But she couldn't sit back and watch him find someone else, even if that person was human. She wanted him for herself.

His words were confusing her quite a bit, but Letha didn't want to think too much about it. "But... I knew what I wanted, too," she murmured quietly, not understanding what the difference between her and Katherine were or why Damon had lusted after Katherine and not her. As much as he claimed to have loved her and to still love her, it was difficult to believe any of those words or him. It almost scared her, but she hoped that she could avoid being consumed with thoughts like that.

She stayed where she was, but she wasn't sure what else to say to him about it. "I just... I wish that she had never come to Mystic Falls. She ruined everything," she murmured.

---

Jeremy could understand exactly why she had been scared. He couldn't blame her; he had been so afraid of losing her that it drove him crazy. But, she was right there, in front of him. She was safe and she was okay and that was all that mattered to him. "We're both okay," he murmured quietly, his eyes locking on hers. He wasn't sure what drove him to do it, but he moved closer to him, placing his hands on her cheeks and tilted her face up slightly so that he could get a better look at her.

"And you will never lose me, Isabelle," he told her quietly, taking in her features for a long moment. "And I really hope that I never end up losing you. I really don't know what I would do if I did."

Damon wasn't sure how else to explain what had gone through his head when he decided on Katherine over Letha, "I know that. But Katherine had strength in her, at the time I didn't know that was because she was a vampire. I was young and stupid, my father was talking to me about marrying you and starting a family. It honestly scared me, I wasn't ready for that. So I stayed with Katherine as I thought it would make me feel better," He told her gently as his fingers moved through her soft hair, having her in his arms really did feel like old times and Damon couldn't help but enjoy the feeling.

"I wish she had stayed far away from Mystic Falls, she didn't ruin everything. I should have chosen you over her, but I didn't and I ruined everything." He told her and it was true, if he had just seen what had been right in front of her then they would have had the perfect life together.

---

Isabelle looked up at Jeremy when he stepped closer to her and held her face in his hands, she didn't know it was possibly but she had butterflies in her stomach from being so close to him. "You don't have to worry about losing me, I'm not going anywhere." She told him as she wouldn't let anything happen to her, she wouldn't make Jeremy go through the pain of losing her. "Besides I'm a vampire, I can handle myself." She smiled at him warmly and she knew exactly was she was doing, she had wanted to do this for a very long time.

She leaned up slightly on her toes so she was even closer to Jeremy, her eyes fluttered shut a second before her lips were pressing against his. She couldn't believe how amazing it felt to finally kiss him, it felt like everything in her life was finally falling into place.

"I should hate you," Letha murmured quietly once he had finished talking. It was true, she knew. She should hate him after everything that he had put her through. But, in reality, as much as she wanted to hate him, she couldn't seem to bring herself to - though, maybe that was because she loved the idiot too much, despite herself. "But I can't. I can't hate you. I can't seem to bring myself to hate you, even though I know that I should. I have every right to hate you, but I don't and I hate that."

Maybe her honesty wasn't something that he wanted to hear, but she didn't care too much at the moment. They seemes to have some sort of honesty thing going on, so it was only fair, in her opinion.

---

Of course Belle was a vampire, but that didn't make Jeremy any less worried. She had almost gotten killed today, after all, despite being a vampire. Just one wrong move and Connor could have easily killed her. He wanted to say all of this, to point it all out, but he was sure that there wasn't much of a point in it. Besides, he couldn't bring himself to say anything when he noticed how close they were and how much closer that she was drawing to him.

And, then, almost before he knew it, her lips were on his. It was more of an intense feeling than he thought was possible, but he didn't hesitate in returning her kiss. His hands dropped from her face and instead rested on her waist as he drew her closer to himself, his eyes closing over.

"I thought that you did hate me, you should and I hate myself for everything that I put you through." Damon commented and he was confused as to why Letha didn't actually hate him, but he was glad that she didn't although wouldn't even dream about using that to his advantage. It was obvious that there was still a lot of tension between them, that wasn't going to disappear anytime soon which Damon knew. But having her in his arms was so nice, "I can't promise you anything. But I'll do my best to never hurt you again, Letha." He told her quietly as he just relaxed in the bed.

Katherine hadn't been involved in his life since he was turned into a vampire, he quickly realised that Katherine had just used him because she was really after Stefan. He hated Katherine more than he hated himself for hurting Letha, there were so many times were he had planned out the bitches death.

---

Isabelle smiled when she felt Jeremy was returning her kiss, just feeling his hands on her waist and having him pull her close was enough to drive her crazy. She fell in love with the way his lips felt against her own, she hadn't felt like this before when she had kissed a man and she loved it. They seemed to fix perfectly together and even though she didn't want to break the kiss, she did pull back as Jeremy still needed to breathe. "I've wanted to do that for a while now," She smiled at him warmly as she felt like a little school girl that had a crush, but she was welcoming the emotions that he was giving her.

"You better let me kiss you whenever I want now, I'm already used to kissing you." Belle smiled as she gazed into his dark eyes, a part of her couldn't believe this was happening but she ignored that. She just wanted to enjoy all of this for as long as she possibly could.

Staying as silent as she could, Letha listened to everything Damon said. Everything about their past had hurt her, more than she cared to admit, and she wasn’t sure if she could move past it. She was trying, at least – and that had to count for something, didn’t it? Maybe she wouldn’t hold this terrible grudge that made her feel so bitter and upset around Damon so much forever. She could only hope, of course, but she was hoping a whole hell of a lot. “Okay,” she murmured quietly when she heard his promise.

Unsure of what else she could say on the subject, she simply let her fingers remain curled in his shirt and kept her face buried against him. All she wanted was to stay there for a while longer, even if she knew how stupid it was or how easy it was for her to grow attached to Damon all over again – it was already starting, after all, despite herself.

---

It surprised Jeremy to hear her words because, really, it was exactly what he had wanted to say, too. He had been falling for her for ages and the fact that he hadn’t had a chance to make a move yet due to her brothers’ constant awareness and watchful eyes had made him begin to think that he probably wouldn’t ever really have a chance with her. He was thankful that wasn’t the case, though, and he grinned to her words, offering a small grin. “I know exactly what you mean,” he murmured honestly before he pressed his forehead to hers.

Letting out a quiet sigh of content, he let himself relax with her so close to him. He laughed, though, at what she said, but nodded nonetheless. “Of course you can kiss me whenever you want to,” he assured her quietly before he peered into her eyes. “As long as I can do the same, that is. Otherwise, it wouldn’t be very fair, in my opinion.”

(I've have a mind blank as to where to go with my post, so I hope you don't mind if I skip ahead.)

Damon was casually sitting at a table in the Mystic Grill, he had a glass of whiskey in his hand. Even though he could easily stay at home and drink as much alcohol as he liked, but Stefan had Elena at the boarding house and he really couldn't stand being around those two any longer. He finished off his whiskey and raised his eyebrow when he noticed who had walked into the Grill, "Want made you come back in here? It was me, wasn't it?" He smirked as his blue eyes focused on Letha, he hadn't expected to see her there considering what happened last time with the vampire hunter. He really wished he could drink his problems away but being a vampire, alcohol didn't affect him in the way that it does humans which really sucked right now.

Belle was officially dating Jeremy now and Damon wasn't happy with that, he was the typical older brother and hated the idea of any guys touching his little sister. Let alone seeing Jeremy kissing Belle or being sickly sweet with her, he thought it was a horrible idea considering Connor had only just told Jeremy that if he killed a vampire than he would unlock the hunter gene.

---

Isabelle was standing outside staring at the lake, Jeremy had wanted to come to the lake house his parents owned and Belle came with him. She had been there when Connor told Jeremy about why he could see the tattoo on Connor's arm and no one else could, she has been in a horrible mood ever since. This couldn't be happening to them, Jeremy couldn't grow to hate vampires and want to kill them when she was one. They had started to date and now they had to deal with this, she wasn't sure if she could deal with it because every time she thought about it all it made her want to cry. Damon had told her to forget about Jeremy and leave town, but she couldn't do that. She'd never be able to leave Jeremy when he could go through something that would change his life, forever.

She heard the back door open and shut before she listened to the footsteps that were so familiar to her, she knew she should be happy because she was there alone with Jeremy but all she could think about was him wanting to kill her. She tried to ignore how she was feeling but it was hard.

(That's fine!)

In honesty, Letha still hadn't forgiven Damon. They were on slightly better terms, sure, but she was still upset that he had broken her heart so long ago. It wasn't easy to forgive somebody for breaking her heart, but she was at least trying to remain on good enough terms with him, even if she knew that things likely wouldn't get better between them. It wasn't like she expected him to be there when she went into The Grill, either, but now that he had spotted her, she couldn't exactly turn and leave. "Well, no, it wasn't you," she said with a quiet drawl and a roll of her eyes as she moved to find a seat. "But, it's not like I can be afraid of coming in here, right? That'd be like letting the hunter have an advantage."

Shrugging, she moved to sit down before perking up and grinning when she realized something. "But, you know, you still owe me that poetry book - and that drink that we didn't get to have last time, since things got bad in here."

---

It was a difficult thing for Jeremy to process, even now. It should have sunk in by now that he was pretty much destined to become a hunter, unless he died before Connor died. But, if Connor died, he'd be the next to become a hunter and he really didn't want that. Though he still held a small dislike towards vampires due to everything that had happened since Elena had gotten involved with Stefan, he didn't want to hate them. He didn't want to hate Isabelle. And he definitely didn't want to kill her - or even just try to. The thought terrorized him because of how much he cared about her. And he was sure that it was causing distress for Isabelle, too, which pained him even more. It was also the reason that he had decided to come outside when he noticed her out staring at the lake.

Even from looking at her from behind, he could tell how bothered she was, how stressed and tense she was. Moving up behind her, he gently wrapped his arms around her and rested his head above hers. "Why are you out here alone?" he asked her quietly.

Damon watched as Letha moved through the grill, he hadn't expected her to be scared of the place but he hadn't thought she'd come back so quickly after what happened. Of course, Damon would always be on alert now after what the hunter did. He wouldn't let anything like that happen again, not to Letha or his family. "When have you ever been afraid of anything? You're even more stubborn than Belle," He softened his voice knowing that if he took one wrong step, Letha would stop talking to him completely and he didn't want that. She was actually speaking to him and seemed to tolerate him, which honestly surprised him but considering that she was still staying at the boarding house and she loved his younger siblings. It was good if she could be around him, even if it was for a short period of time. Damon would take it over nothing.

He rolled his eyes at her, "I'm working on that poetry book alright." He told her as he actually was working on getting her the one she wanted, "A drink? You could have as many drinks as you wanted at home, but you just decided to want a drink now, huh" He commented although he didn't mind, he glanced over at the bartender and signaled that he wanted two more drinks.

---

Isabelle listened to Jeremy's footsteps before feeling his arms wrap around her body, she leaned back into his chest. "Just thinking," She answered him honestly, she hadn't stopped thinking since they found out that Jeremy could eventually be turned into a hunter. She still wanted Connor to die for hurting Letha, but now she knew if that happened than the curse would be passed onto Jeremy and she never wanted that. "I'm sorry, I know we came out here to relax." She apologized as it had been her idea to get away from everything at home, now it was her ruining their time away because she couldn't let go of what Connor had said. "I'm scared, Jeremy." She admitted to him quietly as she didn't want him to worry about her any more, but she needed to tell him how she was feeling.

She rested her hands on his forearms and traced her fingertips across his soft skin, "I can't lose you to that." She whispered as that was her biggest fear, losing Jeremy to a curse that would make him hate her and want to kill her.

Letha could have easily answered his question honestly and reminded him that there were quite a few things that she was afraid of, even as a vampire. But, it wasn't like any of that really mattered right now, though. Or, at least, there wasn't a reason to tell him any of them. "Stubbornness is an admirable trait, though," she hummed out in response before she lifted her shoulders in a shrug. "Many people are stubborn - we tend to have heightened stubbornness, though, you know. It's not like you're one to talk, though, since you're stubborn, too." After lifting her shoulders in a slight shrug, she leaned back in her seat and glanced around The Grill for a few moments. She felt a little tense, but it was no more than it usually was these days when she was around Damon. At least it was a little less tension than what she faced before she almost died.

"Oh, but it's so much more fun having a dashing man buying me a drink. I'd get to make all the girls who have their eyes on you jealous." It was a joke, of course. She didn't really care about making anybody jealous; she wasn't Katherine.

---

Jeremy let his arms tighten around her in the slightest, because he understood her concern. He understood why she was thinking so much and why she was so scared. He was scared, too, which made things a lot harder for the both of them. Really, he was supposed to try to stay calm for her sake, try to be the strong one and keep assuring her that nothing would happen - not let it bother him, too. Breathing out a sigh, he nodded slowly to her words. "I know," he murmured gently, a slight frown on his features. "I'm scared, too. But, it will be okay, I'm sure." He hoped everything would be okay, anyways. It wasn't as though he had the best luck, though, especially not in Mystic Falls where everybody's luck seemed to evaporate rather quickly. Death surrounded them and it was probably only a matter of time before Connor got killed and the curse got passed on to him.

Still, he tried his best to assure her. "Nothing will happen, though. You won't lose me because nobody will kill Connor," he told her quietly. Or, at least, he hoped that nobody would kill Connor. They just had to wait and see, he decided, though he hoped it wouldn't come to that.

Damon scoffed quietly as he looked at Letha, "Since when have I been stubborn?" He grinned as everyone knew how stubborn he could be, he had always been stubborn and it only got worse when he was turned into a vampire. But it was just how he was, it pretty much ran through the Salvatore family with Stefan being the less stubborn of the three siblings. He could still feel the tension that was between them, but it didn't seem to be as bad as he had been when Letha first arrived in town. Something that Damon was thankful for, but he still had a very long way to go before Letha would feel comfortable around him. He would never blame her as it was all his fault, he made this happen and he would never forget that. He looked over at her and actually snorted at her comment, "Make them jealous? You've never wanted to make anyone jealous, you just want me to buy you drinks so you can use me." He glanced at the waiter who placed two glasses down on the table in front of them.

Damon picked up his whiskey and tipped the glass towards Letha, "Cheers? For still being somewhat alive," He looked at her and spoke quietly which wasn't like him, he was never one to worry about people overhearing him. He would just compel anyone who did overhear what he said.

---

Isabelle felt Jeremy's arms tighten slightly around her body and she really didn't want him to worry, "It'll be fine as long as we stick together through all of this. Even though I still want to kill Connor myself, I won't and I'll do my best to make sure he does stay alive." She told him softly as she'd do whatever she could to make sure that Jeremy didn't get turned into a vampire hunter, even if that meant protecting Connor as much as she could without getting herself killed by the hunter. "But I don't want to ruin our time here, I never get you all to myself like this. How about we stop thinking and talking about this, let's just focus on us for a change." She rested her hand over Jeremy's and entwined their fingers together as he held her in his arms, "I wish we could stay here forever." She whispered to him as they wouldn't have a thing to worry about then, but Belle knew that would never happen unless they both decided to actually leave Mystic Falls for good.

Which Belle had done once but this time she was glad that she had returned, otherwise she never would have met Jeremy and she wouldn't be this happy with him. Even if there was a lot going on, he still made her happier than anyone else could and she hoped she did the same thing for him.

Her concern for him and her anger at Conner was understandable, in Jeremy's opinion. "I understand," he assured her gently as he gave her a gentle squeeze and rubbed his hands along her arms gently. "We'll be fine." He smiled slightly and let himself relax with her in his arms. Despite everything that had happened lately, he was glad that they could just be around each other without everybody else around for now. "You're not ruining it. But, okay, yeah, let's focus on us." With a small nod, he gave her hand a squeeze when she entwined their fingers and rested his chin atop her head. He felt better with her in his arms and it was a little easier to forget about all of the trouble that Mystic Falls attracted. "I wish we could, too. It'd be a nice change, rather than facing danger all the time, every day."

He wished that they could relax like this more often. In a town like Mystic Falls, though, it was nearly impossible. Shaking the thought away, he tried to focus on the fact that he was here with her and that everything was okay in that moment. They could just enjoy each other's company.

---

Letha gave Damon a blank stare, clearly not believing his words. "Since when? Probably since before I even met you," she pointed out rather casually before she shrugged slightly. She allowed herself to get comfortable enough in the seat and she hummed in response to his later words. "Well, I did want to make Katherine jealous at one point." She shrugged that off, because it had clearly gone the other way and Katherine had won, not her. "But, I never used you, so why would you assume that would be why I would make you buy me drinks?" A low scoff came from her and she was almost offended, but she ignored it and picked up her drink. It wasn't one of her favorites, but she couldn't bring herself to complain in that moment. Instead, she was about to take a sip before Damon offered the cheers.

Quirking a brow, she looked over at him, but offered a small smile and nodded. "Yeah. Better than being completely dead," she offered in response as she tipped her glass to his. "Cheers." With another nod after their glasses met, she went ahead to take a sip of her drink.

"It runs in the family, I thought you would have noticed that by now. Both Stefan and Belle can be just as stubborn as I am," Damon commented as it was the truth, he wasn't the only stubborn Salvatore in Mystic Falls. "I was joking, Letha. Calm down before your fangs come out," He told her as he knew she had never used him in the slightest way, he had tried to joke with her in a playful way but apparently he wasn't very good at that. At least he wasn't good at it when it came to Letha, which he should have known because she still wasn't that comfortable with him and he did know that. He had tried to make it seem like the old days when they were both still human, but now he knew that it was way too early for that. He needed to take a step back from Letha and go slow with her, something that he probably wasn't good at but he would make sure that he treated her right this time. He clicked his glass with Letha's before he drank a mouthful of the alcohol, "Next drink you can order us whatever you like." He told her knowing that whiskey wasn't her favourite or one that she would order herself.

"So have you thought about sticking around longer?" He asked as his blue eyes focused on her, he hoped that she would stay in town not just for his sake. But for Isabelle as well, mainly for her because it was his fault that she had lost her best friend all those years ago.

---

Isabelle smiled as she leaned into Jeremy's warm body, "I'll protect you from any danger that comes into this town." She promised him as she wouldn't let anything happen to him, and if something did like him becoming the next hunter. Then she would be by his side through it all, even if he did want to kill her. None of it would matter to her because she wasn't going to leave him, she cared about him way too much to let him go and make him go through whatever may happen alone. "But considering this town isn't as safe as I'd like, maybe you should think about learning how to defend yourself. It won't help against a vampire or werewolf, but it could still help keep you alive." She mentioned as she wanted Jeremy to be as safe as he possibly could be, he had already been through so much that she thought it was a good idea for him. "I could even be your teacher," She smiled as she found the idea to be a great one, it would also give them something to do while they stayed at the Gilbert cabin.

"It'll be fun," She assured him as she tried to convince him, "I promise I won't be too hard on you." She would actually love to teach him how to defend himself and keep himself protected, it would probably come in handy with everything that was going on in Mystic Falls right now.

Jeremy was pretty sure that he could probably handle protecting himself at this point. He had cut off the head of a hybrid, after all, and Alaric had taught him a few things as well. But, really, who was he to turn down Isabelle's promise? Instead of replying to it, he gave her a tight squeeze and nodded, hoping that it would be enough for her. And, when she started offering to teach and train him, he quirked a brow as he thought over it. "It wouldn't be too bad of an idea. I do know basic defense, though, since Alaric's taught me a bit," he pointed out. Given that Alaric had been a hunter - regardless of the fact that he had pretty much been an amateur hunter who hadn't killed a vampire at all until he first arrived in Mystic Falls, - it wasn't too surprising that he had taught Jeremy a bit, since he had pretty much taken up the roll of guardian for him and his sister.

Still, while resting his head on Belle's, he shrugged. "So, you won't have to go easy on training me, anyways. I'm pretty sure I can handle it." He grinned, almost jokingly, but there was a hint of seriousness there. If he was going to learn and if Belle was going to teach him, he'd rather that she didn't hold back so that he could get used to fighting vampires. "When would you like to start?"

---

Actually, Letha had noticed it a long time ago. But the Salvatore siblings almost always seemed to deny that they were actually stubborn; most of the time, it would just be brushed off with a silly joke. That never stopped Letha from pointing it out again on a later date, of course. "Oh? I thought you like fangs, Damon?" she hummed out in an almost sing-song voice. "Maybe I should let them come out, see if it gets you excited." There was an almost mischievous smile on her features, though she honestly had no intentions of actually attempting to get him excited - which was honestly difficult to avoid regardless due to vampires' heightened emotions. Even she had trouble controlling her hormones, despite that she didn't have much of a reason to be excited in any circumstance. "Alright. I'll make sure it's something fruity and girly," she hummed out with a teasing grin before she took a sip of the whiskey.

She paused, though, when Damon brought up staying, and she stared down into the liquid in her glass. "Well... I can't really leave," she said after a few moments before she sighed. "Isabelle would kill me. Or track me down and drag me back. Besides, you owe me that book."

Damon raised a brow at Letha, "I do in fact like fangs. But why would you want to get me excited? I'm the last person you'd want to get excited," He looked at her knowing that she was smarter than to show off her fangs in a public place, she also wouldn't do that to him in the first place which they both knew. He chuckled softly as he shook his head lightly, "You know me better than that. A fruity and girly drink has never stopped me before, you know I'll still drink it." He grinned as he'd drink anything alcoholic which would have killed him a long time ago if he had been human, but thankfully alcohol didn't effect vampires in the same way as humans. Alcohol was amazing at numbing any vampire urges which is why most vampire drank a lot, not that he let Isabelle drink because he just didn't want his sister growing up even though she was already far past her teenage years.

"I'm getting you that damn book, alright. It's on the way, and Belle wouldn't kill you. She would track you down and drag you back however, I'm surprised you haven't explained to her what happened and why you left. You can, I'm used to her being angry at me." Damon finished off his glass of whiskey and set the empty glass back down onto the table.

---

Isabelle knew that Alaric had already taught Jeremy how to protect himself, but he hadn't learnt from an actual vampire and it's different knowing what to do and actually fighting a vampire off. Which is why she suggested it, she could teach him so much more than Alaric did. She knows exactly where a vampire is weak and can be hurt, a wide smile was brought to her face at Jeremy's comment. "Oh I wasn't going to go easy on you, babe." She smiled as she knew that he would be able to handle whatever she threw at him, "But only if you agree to not go easy on me too. You won't hurt me, trust me on that." She told him as the only way he would truly learn how to fight, is if they fought like they wanted to harm the other. She wouldn't let Jeremy get seriously hurt but there might be some bruising that needed to happen to him, so Belle knew that she was teaching him what he needed to know.

"We can start whenever you want to," It was his training after all so she let him decide when he was ready to start, she wasn't going to push him into this but she also wanted to see if being the next hunter in line was going to help him. Turning around in Jeremy's arms, she looked up at him and leaned up onto her toes so she could press her lips to his in a sweet kiss.