Mystic Falls Loner Club - A Vampire Diaries Fic

Chapter 18: Time Together (with Damon)

tw: mentions of suicide and self-harm

there's also an a/n at the end! please read it, thank you :)

Damon's hand is tracing across my lower back as we lie on the couch. I'm laying on top of him, my head against his chest, and listening to his heart. His arms are draped over my body and mine loosely connect around his neck. "I don't wanna go to school tomorrow." Damon looks down at me and answers, "You know what Bonnie's gonna say." I roll my eyes and sit up, putting my hands flat on the couch on either side of Damon's head.

 "KJ, you need to go to school. You shouldn't be focusing on your and Damon's friendship more than your education. I know things have been tough since you moved here but they're gonna get better, I promise." I finish with a dramatic head nod and Damon sits up, grabbing my waist. "So friends is what we still are?" I look down at his daylight ring and drag my fingertips across his palm, tracing the lines. 

"Friends is what we'll call ourselves." I answer cheekily, getting off the couch and walking to the kitchen. Before I can open the fridge, Damon is leaning against it, arms over his chest. "Uh-uh, you're not getting out of this one." I look up at him and say, "Damon, if you don't move, I'll make you move." He frowns slightly before moving over and I press a glass to the water button on the fridge. 

"What do you want for dinner?" Damon asks, coming over to the sink so he's staring at the side of my body. I glance over and answer, "Not feeling particular about anything. Maybe pasta or pizza." He nods and walks to the overhead cabinets, taking out boxes of cavatappi and setting them on the counter. "We have pasta already so I think that'll be our best bet." I finish my glass of water and wash it out, putting it on the drying mat.

"Feeling particular about the sauce?" I ask Damon, walking over to the cabinets. He shakes his head and answers, "Red, if we have any." I nod and see a jar of sauce on the top shelf. I mutter the words for a levitation spell and it floats down to my hands and I slide it across the counter to the boxes of pasta.

As Damon takes down the pot to boil water, I take out the cutting board and crack fresh garlic before dicing it. He glances over his shoulder as he adjusts the lid on the pot and comments, "I didn't know you knew how to cook." I chuckle and focus on the garlic on the cutting board, cautious of the blade. "I used to cook a lot back in Boston. I stopped after I got out of the hospital." Damon's eyebrows scrunch in confusion then he realizes. "The knives." He mutters. I nod my head and finish dicing the garlic before I push it to the end of the cutting board.

I walk over to the island counter and sit, facing Damon. He's leaning against the counter and our eyes lock. "After I got home from the hospital, my parents had to establish new boundaries around me. The image of the daughter they thought they had shattered before them so they rebuilt it around my healing journey." I don't know why I'm telling Damon this but he's listening so I continue. "I wasn't allowed to be home by myself anymore. Whenever they ran an errand, I had to tag along and go into the store. I wasn't allowed to cook and any time I went into the kitchen, it was always on lock down. The knives were hidden from me."

"My mom scoured my room from top to bottom, getting rid of anything I could use to cut. I used straight razors to shave and she took those. I'll never forget the day I tried to..." I swallow sharply and shake my head, focusing on my hands. "I went into the bathroom and shut the door. My parents were out on date night and they weren't gonna be back for a few more hours. I took the blade to my skin and the world blurred out. The paramedic said I managed to cut deep but not enough where I would bleed out quickly."

Damon moves toward me and I let him take my hands into his. "Why are you telling me this, KJ?" I look up at him and respond, "Because I want you to know that what I decided to do wasn't your fault. I don't want anything to come between us. I don't know what shifted today but something did. I didn't choose to take my life because you left. I came to that decision on my own. I was in a really dark place and I felt like there was no one to talk to. And I knew there wasn't because I hadn't talked to anybody for months."

Damon presses his lips together and shakes his head. "You didn't talk to anyone for months because of me. You put me first because I had some kind of hold on you. I was drawn to you for some supernatural reason. Witches and vampires don't get along. Ever." I chuckle at the last part and my eyes tear up. "I guess we're doomed then, right?" Damon uses his thumb to wipe my face and answers, "I guess."

He pulls me into a hug and I let my arms tighten around him. "I need you to hear this from me." I press my chin to his chest as I force my face to look up at him. "You are one of the most caring and kind people I've ever met. And damn anyone that tells you differently. Yeah, you may have acted terribly in your past but that doesn't mean that's who you are now. Everyone is capable of change and I've seen it with you."

Damon smiles down at me before pressing his lips to mine. I smile and think, Thank you, heart. Without you, I wouldn't have been able to make it to now. You saw what was in store for my future and decided to beat again. You decided to beat again because of him.

a/n:

hey all! this chapter is a little over 1000 words and i wanted this chapter to be a little longer. if i continued to work on, there might not have been an update tonight and i told myself i would update all three stories within a week of the previous chapter.

 the next part will be a part two so i can update tonight. i'll put the second part out before i update the other books so y'all get to read sooner.  :)

thanks and take care, kj