Wayward Heart: Book 1

Part 4

"So let me get this straight," Alaric rubbed his temples in an attempt to destress himself, "you pulled her from school to keep her away from Stefan, who kept bullying her for some reason. Only to end up killing two guys who tried to attack her, even though she easily defended herself. Then you take her out into the middle of the damn woods, possibly get spotted by a hybrid. Oh and I almost forgot, you slept with her."

"That uh...pretty much sums that whole thing up. Yup," Damon said as he took a swig of bourbon from a flask he kept in his jacket.

"Did you know she was joking with her sister this morning about the fact that you two were 'on a date because you shared a milkshake'; do I even want to know what the hell that is about?"

"That is actually the most innocent part about this whole thing."

"Please explain to me how this whole thing I supposed to keep her safe."

Damon opened his mouth to say something but quickly closed it when he couldn't find the right answer. He knew what he had done was stupid, he put a bigger target on her back; which was why he was currently in the school parking lot getting patronized by the kettle; he had to keep his eyes and ears alert to make sure that not only was Stefan backing up but Tyler wasn't showing any signs of taking an interest in Emma.

He watched from a distance as Emma ran the track with ease while laughing with Bonnie about their new classmate Rebekah. Damon of course had recruited Bonnie onto his safety team. For once she was doing something for more than just Elena.

"Emma is coming over to the boarding house later, she couldn't be safer there," Damon tried to ease his friend's worry.

"Oh great, with your soulless brother and a psycho Original. Super safe," Alaric pushed himself off the car and started walking back into the school.

Over the next month Emma spent most of her time with Damon, either at the boarding house or at her apartment. They had become inseparable, and for Damon it was no longer just because Alaric hired him to steer her away from trouble. For once he found himself caring about something outside of his brother. Once upon a time he had thought he had fallen for Elena, but after a year of rejection and her continued doubt in his ability for control, his heart had finally pivoted in a different direction with the appearance of Emma.

Emma drove down the dirt road and onto the gravel driveway of the boarding house, expecting it to be like any other day. She hopped off of her Kawasaki Ninja and pulled her helmet off. She shook her hair out and clipped her helmet to the seat. She knocked on the door to the boarding house only to have it opened by Stefan instead of Damon. She was slightly put off but asked about Damon.

"Yea he is just upstairs in his room," Stefan's cold smile invited her into the dark house.

The dark wood and huge fireplace made the space inviting but also put her on alert. Something wasn't right. Just as she was about to comment the blonde who had just started at her school came down stairs from the second floor in nothing but a towel.

"Did you have to use all of my conditioner?" She heard Damon ask before she saw him following her down the stairs.

Emma's arms fell to her sides in shock. There was a snicker behind her from Stefan which only reinforced what she was thinking.

"And why the hell are you using my bathroom? What's wrong with yours?" Damon demanded, that statement alone eased Emma a little.

"Your shower head is better," Rebekah commented before she noticed Emma standing in the middle of the main room, "oh don't worry we didn't do anything, this time."

She flicked her hair and began to walk away but stopped when Emma commented back, "Trust me, I wasn't worried. I knew he traded up to a red head for some reason, now I see that it was because he had a bitchy blonde."