Paralyzed

Looking at my reflection in the mirror I couldn't help but stare at the spot that had previously been home to fang marks. Honestly, I hadn't wanted to believe any of the memories I had from that night. After all, when did vampires become a real thing? But the more I had thought about it, the more sense it began to make. If psychics and ghosts were real than what was stopping vampire from being real too? And there wasn't any other explanation for the two puncture wounds that had finally healed. It had taken nearly a week of wearing scarves or hoodies all the time but they were finally gone.

From across the room my phone began ringing to let me know I needed to leave for work now. The weather hadn't been too cold since last Friday so I had spent a lot of time exploring the neighborhood in an attempt to re-orient myself to the streets that I used to roam as a child. But I'd also realized that I was going to need a job sooner or later. So I'd talked to the manager at the Mystic Grill and gotten myself a job as a waitress. It wasn't the most glamorous job ever but it would be more than enough to cover my few living expenses. And since the weather was nice and sunny I opted to walk on my first day instead of drive a whopping five minutes.

I walked into the grill and was immediately introduced to a guy named Matt. He was the one who had served me last week, I realized as the manager walked away. Apparently, Matt would be giving me a crash course in how things worked at the Mystic Grill. Most of it was pretty generic stuff that applied to pretty much any waitress job such as learning table numbers and specialized abbreviations for menu items. None of which was particularly hard. I actually enjoyed it because having something to focus on made it easier to tune out the internal ramblings of everyone in the building. Sure, a few stray thoughts managed to slip in but they were nice, normal thoughts this time and I found myself relaxing into the work.

"So what do you usually go by?"

"Oh, you could call me Fiona or Mac. Either is fine?"

"Mac?"

"Yeah. My last name is MacBrádaigh but the spelling throws people off so I go by Mac."

"I ssee. Well, I'll call you Mac then," Matt said before leaving me to my work.

Now that the day had progressed some, the lunch rush was beginning to flood in and that meant all of use were taking of three or four tables each. And it wasn't too hard aside from the fact that memory matching had never been my strong suit. But I'd only made two mix-ups so far and I was considering that a small victory. Baby steps, Fi. Start with the baby steps.

"Mac! Table 5 is yours," Matt called from behind the bar.

Thinking back to the chart from earlier, I made my way to a table in the middle of the room. There was a solitary figure sitting at the table but I couldn't see his face. It was most certainly a male, that much was obvious by the hands holding the menu up.

"How can I help you today, sir?"

"I'll just have a glass of whiskey on the rocks."

"That's it?"

"Yeah, that's it," he said as he shut the menu and looked up at me.

"Oh. Damon. I didn't realize it was you," I said. "If all you were going to order was whiskey then why didn't you just sit at the bar?"

"Because I wanted to see how you were doing. How's your neck?"

Blushing, I touched a hand to my neck. Yes, it was healed. You almost couldn't even see the marks now. But there was still a little tenderness when I touched it. Realizing I'd spaced out, I turned my gaze back to Damon and smiled.

"It's fine. Finally healed over, so that's good. Thanks again."

"Don't worry about it, Fiona. It was nothing. Now how about that whiskey?"

"Right! It'll be right out."

I made my way over to the bar to make his drink and was met by Matt, who seemed like he was about to say something. As I turned to take Damon his drink, Matt grabbed my arm. It was startling, the amount of strength he used to hold me there. And it was kind of annoying.

"Watch out for him, Mac. Damon Salvatore is trouble. Okay?"

"He seems friendly enough, Matt."

"Yeah, well looks can be deceiving. Just be careful, alright?"

I nodded and walked away. If Damon was trouble then why did he save my life last week? Why did he make sure that I got home safely and why did he come in to check on me? So many questions swirled thorough my mind as I sat the drink down in front of Damon.

"You sure you're alright?"

"What? Yeah, just a lot on my mind. How did you know that I worked here now? We haven't talked since last week and today is my first day." With Matt's warning fresh in my mind, it did strike me as odd that Damon knew exactly where to look for me.

"I frequent this place a lot. And Mystic Falls is pretty small, so word gets around quickly that the new girl got a job at the grill."

"Alright. Well, I've got to get back to my other tables but if you need a refill just give me a wave," I said before walking away from him to check on my other tables.

I was genuinely becoming frazzled with all of the running back and forth that I was doing in an attempt to make sure that everyone was happy and well maintained on their needs. Gotta be friendly and efficient to make the good tips, everyone knew that. At some point in the lunch rush, Damon disappeared, leaving a ten dollar bill on the table with a note saying keep the change. Well then...not much of a people person apparently.

The rest of my shift was fairly normal. I had a few families come in but a lot of customers were couples getting lunch on their work breaks or on dates. It was cute, in a sickening way. But that was probably due to the fact that I'd never understood the concept of going on a date to watch each other eat. The whole concept was just wonky to me. As I clocked out, and counted my tips, Matt came over with a bin of dirty dishes in his arms.

"Hey, Mac. About earlier? I didn't mean to come across as overprotective like that. It's just that Damon has caused quite a bit of trouble for my friends and I in the past. I don't want to see you get in trouble or get hurt." He stood there waiting for an answer, his expression one of utter concern. This might have been partially due to a grudge but he was only trying to be a good person and I could see that.

"It's fine, Matt. I'll be careful around him. Pinky promise."

With a sigh of relief, he nodded and walked off. I finished up and gathered my belongings before walking out of the grill.

The sun that beat down on my felt great as I stepped outside into it. Especially when I thought back to the previous Friday and how cold and rainy it had been. I looked around the area, checking to make sure that freak wasn't lurking somewhere. It was silly and I knew it but something like that is more than enough to make a person a little paranoid.

"Looking for someone?"

Jumping, I turned to find none other than Damon standing beside me. Surely I would have heard him walk up next to me. At the very least I should have seen him as I was looking around for the freak from last week. And he definitely hadn't been there when I walked out of the grill. I took a moment to look him over, my eyes taking in all the details that I hadn't been able to see in the dark. His hair was still that dark black the color of raven's feathers. It was a rare color to come across naturally but there was no way that this dude dyed his hair. And his eyes. Man, they were such a brilliant icy blue that I felt like I could stare at them all day. I knew I could stare at them all day, if it wouldn't be completely creepy. It was something that I had always found attractive in guys.

"I--no." I was just looking around and enjoying the sunshine. What are you doing here?"

"I came to see if you'd like some company."

Again, it struck me as odd that he knew what time I'd be getting off work. Yeah this town was small but there was no way word could get around this fast. But maybe he'd overheard the manager talking to someone about schedules. There had to be a reasonable explanation for how Damon knew all these things.

"Right. I suppose I wouldn't mind it too terribly. I may or may not be a little paranoid about walking around alone."

"As you rightly should be."

We began the walk to my house, taking the same path we had the week before. And we made small talk as we walked, exchanging our thoughts and the town and small stories about our history in it. I learned that he came from one of the founding families and that he had a younger brother named Stefan whom he often quarreled with. I told him of my trouble with Matilda and how I came to be in this town after so many years away.

But my mind kept reverting back to Matt's earlier warning. Damon really did seem like a nice guy and I was having a hard time understanding why Matt would say anything like that. I stole at glance at Damon, noting once more how he looked only a few years younger than me. The weird thing was really how he acted. He was one of those people that many would refer to as an old soul. His mannerisms and thinking all reminded me of stories I'd read about how people were in the early 1800 and 1900's. Very polite and cordial, careful not to interrupt me. It was kind of surreal, if I was being honest.

"If you'd like, I can show you around the outer areas of the town. Maybe we could go into the city? Since you haven't been here in such a long while. A lot has changed."

"Mmm...I'll think about it. I'm still trying to get settled and unpack everything."

"Alright. Until we meet again then, Fiona."

"Until next time, Mr. Salvatore."