Children Of The Damned

Eliana

I was surprised at Damon’s behavior. After he left, I was sure I wouldn’t have been able to survive the duration of that dinner if he hadn’t been there to comfort me. I was surprised that he could be so selfless as to offer support, expecting nothing in return. From what I have heard, he was not that kind of guy.

My mother was so lost in her own world that she forgot to punish me for her outburst. In fact, she just went back to life as if I had never opened up and told her how I felt. It was like the conversation had never happened.

When I got home I decided to just take a nice long bath and relax. Goodness knows I needed it. Once the bubbles and hot water had filled up the huge bath in my bathroom, I locked the door and stripped down, my image blurry in the foggy mirror. I pulled my hair out of its tight ponytail and stepped into the bathtub, my iPod in my ears. I was listening to Mumford & Sons, and “Sigh No More” was playing. The rough warmth of the lead singer’s voice coaxed me into a more calm state, and the soft plucking of the guitar and the upright bass lulled me into a sleepy state. And before I had a chance to wonder if I would wake up if my head slipped under, I was asleep.

When I finally woke up, the water was freezing cold and all the bubbles had popped. I wasn’t sure how long the album had been on repeat, but when I checked my iPod to see what time it was, it read 2:00 a.m.

I got out of the tub, wrapping a towel around me before putting on an old cotton night gown with roses all over it. I dried off my hair and put it in a long braid over my shoulder. But now I was awake. I threw on my puffy robe and opened my bedroom window, stepping out onto the balcony.

I couldn’t help but think about Damon and what he had done for me. His number was programmed into my phone, although I had told myself I would never call it. Because that would just be silly. More than silly. It would be unwise. It would only be a matter of time before he gained my trust and used it to take advantage of me in some way. Stefan told me that was his MO.

But tonight he had been totally selfless about it all. He offered me his help with no expectations for anything in return. He had comforted me and then didn’t stick around to take advantage of me while I was vulnerable. That was very unlike him.

But I wanted for him to defeat the stereotype everyone put him under. It seemed unfair that everyone had preconceived notions about him. I wanted to believe they weren’t true, but I wasn’t stupid enough to put all my faith in hoping they were wrong. If he wanted me to trust him, he had to prove to me he was worth trusting.

__________________________________

Damon

I wanted to believe that tonight had only been a mishap. I didn’t want to be the kind of person who waited on a phone call.

She had taken the scrap of paper with my phone number on it and tucked it away into her purse. I saw that much before I left. As I left, I knew that I wanted anything but to be away from her then. Something had changed in our tenuous interactions with one another. Somehow I knew things would never be the same again.

I even went so far as to go to the tree outside her window after midnight, just to see if she was doing well. But she wasn’t in her bed. I figured she must be in some other part of the house.

Or maybe she was with Matt. That idea made me cringe. Did she love him? I didn’t think she did. But I knew that in time she would grow to do so, because Matt was the golden boy who could make anyone love him. He would charm her with his reliability and predictable kind actions. He would woo her with soft words and tender kisses because that was who he was.

I knew then that I didn’t want to sit back and watch her fall for him. I wanted to convince her that I could be reliable, but that there was something to be said for a man with a wild side. I had been alive long enough to know myself. I was dangerous. And frankly, that was part of my appeal. If I had to use it to win her over, than so be it. But she would be mine.

__________________________________________

Eliana

Founders Day was in two weeks, and I had been chosen to help build the Miss Mystic Falls float. It gave me something to do so I didn’t go out of my mind with boredom in this town.

Stefan seemed excited about the upcoming celebration. After all, he had attended the first Founders Day celebration. He would stand up on the float in period attire as Elena’s escort during the parade.

“Aren’t you excited at all?” he asked as he sat down next to me. I had the float plans laid out in front of me. I had to make sure all of it was structurally sound, and pretty at the same time.

“Well, not exactly, but I don’t plan on being really involved in it or anything.”

“Involved? You Don’t call this involved? It’s only one of the most important parts of the entire parade.”

“Yeah, but it’s not like I am going to be standing up there in period attire or anything. I am going to be in the audience. Or asleep at home after I make sure that the whole thing doesn’t fall apart before the town can see it. This is pretty tedious work. Who knew there were so many people who didn’t know certain designs defy the laws of physics. So I ended up being chosen to design the entire thing because people are not very bright sometimes.”

“Wow. That may have been the most unkind thing I have ever heard you say, and it wasn’t even that bad.”

“Really? Because there are far worse things buzzing around in my head right now…I’m sorry, Stefan. I am just really stressed right now. And it’s not all about this either.”

“What’s wrong?”

“Well, I sort of confronted my mother about her not paying attention to the fact that I have been dating someone for the past two weeks, among other things that she has been completely oblivious about, and she just shut me down. It’s like she can’t handle talking about anything important. It’s absolutely ridiculous. But you know what; when I was at the grill having this argument with my mom, I just broke down and had to excuse myself. And the weirdest thing happened.”

“What?” he asked.

“Damon was there for me. He just made me feel so much better. And all he did was let my cry all over his really nice jacket, which Is till feel bad about…I probably ruined it. But anyway, that’s not the point. He gave me his number and said I could call him if I ever needed someone to talk to. I’m not really sure how I feel about that. It seemed so out of character for him.”

“Listen,” Stefan began. “I’m not going to tell you what to do when it comes to Damon, but please, just be careful.”

“I know, Stefan. It just seemed like he was being so…unselfish. Like he actually cared that I was upset.”

“What are you guys talking about over here?” a voice asked with an excited sort of interest. I looked up to see Matt standing, his arms splotched with red paint in a very macabre sort of manner. He had been painting a few of the banners for the parade over on the other side of the gym.

“Nothing much. Dinner just wasn’t too great last night. My mom and I had an argument.”

How was it that I just couldn’t feel comfortable giving Matt details about my life?

“I’m sorry to hear that,” he said, sitting next to me and kissing my cheek. He looked at my blueprints. “Wow, these are really good, Elly.” He had taken to calling me that lately. I suppose it was cute coming from him, although I didn’t particularly like it. But if it made him happy calling me something no one else called me, than I was fine with that.

“I certainly hope they’re good. I’ve been working on them since this morning. I finally pieced together the stuff that everyone contributed in a way that doesn’t look hideous and that will actually stay together when we put it in motion. Now, I need to take a break before I go insane. I’m going to start seeing blueprints in my sleep if this doesn’t stop soon.”

“I can take you to the grill and get you some lunch. You haven’t eaten all day.” It was cute how he paid attention to little things like this. My stomach growled in response to his words.

“Ok. Feed me, boy,” I said, taking his hand as he helped me up from my uncomfortable position on the floor. We walked out to his car and he opened the passenger side door for me like a perfect gentleman.

“Are you looking forward to the Founders Day Parade?” I asked him, since he was going to be on the Miss Mystic Falls float with Caroline as her escort.

“Yeah, but I would prefer it if it were you up there with me. I think Caroline still has a thing for me, and it always makes things awkward. I told her that after we broke up, that would be the end of it. Apparently she doesn’t understand.”

“I’m sorry it’s uncomfortable. But I’m looking forward to seeing my handsome boyfriend up there in his Victorian attire. I’m sure you’ll look sharp.”

When we reached the bar, I was glad Damon wasn’t there at the bar. Things were awkward now that Damon had shown me another side to himself. For whatever reason I had decided I didn’t want to believe all the horrible things that everyone said about him. But I knew that he would make Matt even more uncomfortable than he could ever make me, so I was happy he decided some other Mystic Falls haunt today.

“So what would you like?” he asked as he sat down at the booth with me.

“I’m feeling like something big and unhealthy….cheeseburger and fries, and a coke?”

“Sounds like a plan to me. Two cheeseburgers it is.” I smiled at him ordering the same thing as me.

“Then, unfortunately, it’s back to work on that float. Really, I am going to start seeing blueprints in my sleep. I swear I am.”

He laughed at that. “I can help organize all the heavy lifting if you would like. I’ll oversee the building.”

“Thank you so much! You have no idea how much I was dreading that!” In all my excitement I leaned across the table and kissed Matt right as Damon walked in the door.

“Great,” I said, visibly deflating.

“What is it?” Matt asked, as if he had done something wrong.

“Nothing. It’s nothing. Just someone I was hoping I wouldn’t run into today.”

Matt looked around the room discretely, and saw Damon walk up to the bar and order a drink.

“Do you want me to go over there and tell him to leave you alone?”

I was happy Matt had the decency to ask what I wanted rather than puff up with testosterone and go at it like a Neanderthal with Damon, because a confrontation was the last thing I wanted for either of them right now. Or me.

“No. Lets just enjoy our meal. Besides, he was really nice to me when my mom and I got in a fight last night while we were eating here?”

“Why didn’t you tell me?” he asked.

“I’m sorry. I just didn’t want to make this morning any more stressful than it already was. I’m sorry I didn’t tell you.”

“So what happened?”

“She had no idea I was even dating you, much less that I was there when you were attacked. So instead of feeling guilty for never having any idea about what is going on in my life she decides she is going to ridicule me for going to a party without her knowing about it. Even though I didn’t exactly sneak out of the house to go. She just doesn’t have any interest in what is going on in my life.”

“It sounds a lot like my mom.”

“God, I’m sorry. Here I am, complaining about my relationship with my parents, and you don’t even have anyone to take care of you, much less be there for you.”

“You’re there for me. That’s enough.”

I took his hand from across the booth and squeezed it tightly. All I could think about was how much I didn’t deserve someone this amazing.

We spent the rest of our time at the grill politely ignoring Damon and enjoying our meal before we went back to the school to finish our work.

Matt was a perfect leader. People were more likely to listen to him than they were to me. He knew the way to make all the young men in the group do exactly what he wanted without making them feel like he was their slave driver or something ridiculous like that.

When it was time for me to call it a day, it was dark outside, and Matt was still working with the other guys on the building process. I kissed him goodnight and left him with the blueprints.

I went out to my car, my eyes heavy with exhaustion. I rolled down my windows and turned the AC on full blast to keep me cold and alert as I drove home. When I got there my hair was all over the place, so I ran my fingers through it and used a rubber band to tie it up in a messy bun. Oh well. I would worry about it later. I went upstairs and decided I had better brush out my hair before it wrapped itself around the rubber band and became hopelessly tangled.

No sooner had I convinced my hair to lie in its usual slight curls than I heard a knock on the door. I bounded downstairs to answer it before my parents came out of their office to do it themselves.

I opened the door to find Damon standing on my welcome mat.