Secrets

C14

" No going outside. No opening the door for strangers. No letting anyone inside. You got me?"
Maybelle pulled on her coat, her eyes on her charge.

" Yes, Auntie. Crystal clear." Carly Ann felt like hitting her head against a wall for being treated like a little girl.

" Good, I'll be back tomorrow afternoon-ish . There's food in the fridge. If you need anything, call my Aunt Sheila. Her number is next to the house phone." Maybelle picked up her keys and purse before walking towards the front door.

" Okay , Auntie. Have fun in Richmond."

" I'm not going to have fun. I'm going to be helping out at Saint Augusta's Hospital for Magical Maladies and Injuries. My friend Donna Blackflame asked me because they're short on Healers and Medi-Witches . Be good for me, okay? Lock the door behind me."

Carly sighed inwardly as her Aunt Maybelle kissed her forehead before waltzing out of the door.

She didn't mind staying alone. She was capable of caring for herself.

She started closing the door after watching her Aunt Maybelle drive off in that rickety scrap metal she called a car , when none other than Damon Salvatore and another guy with green eyes and light brown hair was standing on the front doorstep.

Carly's heart jumped at the suddenness of their appearance, but outwardly she was calm.

" Um... Hello," she said timidly," Auntie Maybelle isn't here, and I'm not supposed to talk to anyone, so..."

Damon Salvatore gave her a smirk that she really didn't like. It was creepy even if he was handsome beyond measure.

" Hello, Carly Ann Snow. It's nice to see you again," he said ," I know your Aunt isn't here. I saw her drive off."

" Uh ... it's Carly , or Ann. Grandad calls me Ann , though, and Auntie calls me Carly. Take your pick." She was rambling and she felt quite embarrassed about it , but she couldn't help herself.

"You sound British. Are you from the UK?"

" England. Grandad's house is there. I really should close the door. Auntie will be furious." She moved to close the door when the other guy held up his hand indicating for her to wait.
She frowned lightly in annoyance , but obliged him.

" Why don't you come outside , and spend some time with my brother and I? You can meet some of our friends."

Carly shook her head . " I'm sorry ,but Auntie said I'm not allowed to leave the house, and if Aunt Sheila finds out that I've left the house , she'd tell Auntie and I'll be in huge trouble." She clutched onto the door tightly, her knuckles turning white.

" Please, we only want to get to know you. You can't sit around the house alone until tomorrow afternoon," the green eyed man said, his tone friendly and charming.

Carly bit her upper lip indecisively. " I don't know. Auntie Maybelle will really be mad. I don't want to be turned into a rabbit or something unnatural."

" Whoa, hold on, can your kind really do that?," Damon asked, causing his brother to roll his eyes.

" Uh... yeah. We use brooms to fly also, but we don't have warts on our noses and we aren't green and ugly. Well, some are ugly, like Umbridge , but that's irrelevant. We also brew potions in cauldrons and have cats, but they aren't all black. We use wands , but we can learn to do wandless and non-verbal spells. It's just very hard. Not everyone are cut-out for that. Anywho, I'm sorry, but I really can't leave the house. Grandad send me here for my own safety. I shouldn't pay back his kindness by not heeding my Aunt."

" Tell you what, why don't you let us in then," Damon suggested with a sly smile," That way you're not breaking any rules and we get to know you better. Come on, what do you say?"

Carly shook her head, giving him a smile. "Nu uh, you're not allowed in the house. Auntie told me so. Besides I'm not allowed to let anyone in, so... I'll rather come outside, if only for a moment."

Damon sighed exasperatedly. " Fine, come on then. We'll go to our house. It isn't far from here."

Carly nodded." Alright, let me just get my shoes and the house keys. Not that anyone will be able to break in, though. The house has a lot of wards against thieves and all sorts of never-do-wells."

That made the two brothers smile, even if they know nothing about wards.

Carly left to get her shoes and the house keys before coming back and stepping out of the house. Her wand was tuck in a holster on her right forearm. She didn't tell them that, though. It was in anyway useless because of the trace that was still on her.

She locked up the house carefully and tucked the key in her jean pocket. The jeans were thankfully charmed to never make the wearer lose anything that was in its pockets, so the key would be quite safe there.

" We parked my car a few blocks away," Damon said as they walked down the street.
" If you want to get there faster, you should let one of us carry you."

" No thank you. I like walking." Carly really didn't want to be carried by these strangers.

" Suit yourself," was all Damon said before quickening his steps to walk two steps before her.

The green eyed guy fell into step beside her and she got a chance to take a good look at him.

" I'm Stefan," he introduced himself," I'm sorry if I didn't say that earlier."

" Um....a pleasure to meet you , Stefan."

Stefan nodded, giving her a slight smile. " So...how old are you?," he asked .

She looked at him briefly before looking forward , her eyes taking in the street stretching out before them. " Fifteen. I'll be sixteen in the summer."

" That's nice. We'll buy you a present," Damon spoke up , his tone snarky.

Carly shook her head at that. She was beginning to think the guy was mental or something.

They walked on further in silence. Carly enjoyed it immensely. She really did like walking. The trips to Hogsmeade was one of the times she got to take a walk.
Going to classes at Hogwarts just didn't count, except maybe Care of Magical Creatures class.

" There's my car," Damon said after a few more minutes.

A blue Camaro sat parked against the sidewalk a few feet away.

" Nice car," Carly complimented, earning a bright smile from Damon.

" You can ride shotgun, if you like?," Stefan said, indicating to the front seat when they reached the car.

" No thank you. I like sitting in the back. I can think better and don't have to talk as much." Her Grandfather had an old car at his house that he barely used . He used to take her on drives with it to help her fall asleep when she was younger.

She sighed. She missed her Grandfather very much. She hope that he's alright wherever he's staying right now.

She should probably try to contact Uncle Aberforth to hear if he heard anything.

Then again, he might get in trouble if she wrote to him because she was also a fugitive from the Wixen Community in the UK.

" Suit yourself," Damon repeated his own words from earlier.

Carly didn't say anything to that as Stefan opened the backdoor passenger for her.

Damon can go hang himself, if vampires can be hung. Her Auntie , of course,had told her about all the supernatural creatures residing in Mystic Falls and had told her to stay away from them. Especially the Salvatore brothers and here she was ignoring that sound advice. Figures, she was the epitome of an unruly child.
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I hate writer's block and everything , but I had to go find my inspiration somewhere. Sometimes I have too many stories I'm working on that it actually messes with me . It's like this : which one should I write further? I can't ever decide.