Salvation {Damon Salvatore / TVD}

Chapter 2: The Night of The Cormet

I woke up, feeling groggy next morning. I got dressed in a dark sweater with jeans and came downstairs but was stopped by Jenna in the hallway.

"Up or down?" She asked, holding her hair.

"I'd say down. What's this for, anyway?"

"Teacher conference. Jeremy's grades." She said simply.

I walked down the stairs to see Elena in a cheerful mood. Which was way odd. There was a 95%-chance that was caused by Stefan. Jeremy left early in the morning to check on Vicki in the hospital. I heard the injuries she had were pretty bad and she lost a lot of blood. Another animal attack.

Jeremy and Vicki were hooking up a few months back. He was in love with her and she was also hooking up with Tyler. I didn't know why Tyler and Jeremy were fighting over a girl. And it was not just a normal girl. It was Vicki. She was not that moral and she did drugs. She was no good for even Tyler. That girl only caused trouble.

Like any other day, I went to school with Caroline. She told me how relieved she was because her mom was working super late yesterday to even notice her drunken state. The car stopped abruptly, jerking me forward, causing me to almost hit my head but luckily, I pushed myself back on the seat. Caroline's mouth formed an 'o' as we caught our breaths.

"Is that a crow?" I said, narrowing my eyes at the black bird standing on the hood of the car, with broken tree branches on the road.

Caroline honked the car and the bird flew away and she went back to driving.

"That was crazy." Caroline said.

The rest of the drive was silent, since neither of us knew what to say, even though we were best friends. During the whole day of school, Stefan and Elena were flirting with each other to a level that made me want to vomit. Elena told me Matt was overly jealous with Stefan, which was kinda understandable. The guy knew her when they were still kids. He wouldn't forget her that easily. Elena could be annoying at inappropriate times but she wasn't easy to forget. You'd love her as soon as you met her. 

When I came home, Jenna was complaining about how much of an ass Mr. Tanner was. I couldn't help but agree with her. I knew I shouldn't be badmouthing teachers but he was the worst teacher I had ever had. It was a good thing Stefan humiliated him. That made him real vengeful.

When Jeremy came home, he was interrogated by Jenna about drugs and what not. He seem irritated and he should be. Neither Jenna nor Elena would let him get away with that. I cared about him but I'd give him some slack. I wasn't even directly related to him but if anyone invaded my personal space, I would easily snap.

"I'm going to the Grill, Jenna." I called from the front door.

"Have fun. Wait, don't be late. It's a school night." She yelled.

I got in my car and drove to the familiar bar in town. When I walked in, I was greeted by Bonnie and Caroline. Elena just smiled.

"What are you talking about?" I asked as I settled down and ordered a drink.

"Stefan came over your house yesterday." Bonnie said.

"When? Why didn't I see him?" I asked, surprised.

"He came over when you weren't back yet. And we... kissed." Elena grinned.

I made a cheering sound but was interrupted by Caroline, "They kissed! So what?!"

All of us stayed quiet, waiting for Caroline to cool off. When I was about to leave, Elena stopped me.

"Hey, Jen. Can you pass by the Salvatore boarding to pick up some books for me? I think Stefan has my notebook." 

"Sure." I smiled.

When I got to the boarding house, I knock the door twice. No one answered, so I guess the house was empty at the time but then the door opened slightly. I pushed it lightly and called out, "Stefan? Are you home?"

After a few minutes of silence, I turned around and gasped.

"Hello. You must be Elena's sister, Jen. I'm Stefan's brother, Damon." He smiled at me.

"I'm her sister. Stefan told me he didn't have any siblings." I said.

"He doesn't talk about me much. In fact, I just got settled back in town." He said.

"Oh, is Stefan home?"

"He went out earlier. Do you need something?" He asked.

"Stefan must've taken Elena's book by accident, so I came by to pick them up." 

"Well, why don't we look for it?" He grinned. And with that, I followed him into the library.

The boarding house was huge, but it was kinda short of people. The house was pretty creepy on the outside, since it wasn't near to the roads and it was always dark so it brought out the evil-looking side.

"Are these Elena's?" Damon said as he handed me some books. I checked them out before smiling at him.

"Yes, they are. Thanks. Tell Stefan I said hi." I said as we walked to the door. I opened it to reveal Stefan about to walk in.

"Jen, what are you doing here?" He said cautiously, looking at Damon.

"I had to pick some books you took of Elena. I'll be on my way then." I said, "It was nice meeting you, Damon."

"As wise." He smiled charmingly, "Hey. How would you like to go somewhere with me?"
Stefan continued to glare at his brother. Wherever Damon went, people die. Damon was the definition of 'dangerous' back then.
"Damon..." Stefan said in a low voice.
"Come on, Stef. Your big brother just back. Let me live a little." Damon smirked before turning back to Jen, "What do you say?"
"Um... Sure." I answered hesitantly.
"Great. Let's go. I promise you're safe with me." Damon grinned as he took his jacket off the coat hanger and followed me outside.
"Would you mind if I drive?" He asked.
"Yes. I mean no. You can drive." I stuttered. I handed him my keys and climbed in the passenger seat. 
"Wow, Elena, huh? Stefan's screwed." Damon said.
"What do you mean?" I scrunched my eyebrows in confusion.
"He dated a girl named Katherine back then." He said vaguely.
"How is she involve with Elena?" I asked, not really following him.
"Well, they're a lot alike." 
"Oh. What is she like?" I asked.
"She was beautiful, a lot like you in that department," I couldn't stop the redness from invading my cheeks and quickly looked down, "She wasn't so kind at times. She was sexy and seductive." 
"You seem to know her well."
"Why wouldn't I? I dated her." He said, keeping his eyes on the road.
My eyes widen at his respond, and that was when I noticed his choice in verbs, "You said 'was'. Is Katherine-?"
"Dead? Yes." He finished my sentence.
"How did she...?"
"In a fire. Tragic, really." He said. A twinge of sadness crossed his face, but it left as fast as it came.
"Which of you dated her first?" I asked. This was definitely too personal but my curiosity took over.
"I think you should ask Stefan that. I bet his answer differs from mine." The conversation ended at that.
Soon, we reached a small hill. I got out of the car and looked around. The scenery was quiet. The only sounds were the rustling of the trees and of the night owls. At the bottom of the hill was a perfect view of Mystic Falls. 

[ Third person's POV ]
"Look." Damon said quietly and pointed at the sky. Jen followed his line of sight and there were the comets. They were tearing through the darkness and lighten up the whole sky. Damon watched her as she smiled. The first genuine smile appeared on his lips. Damon had never really felt anything like that since Katherine. But as stubborn as he was, Damon convinced himself it was Katherine that he wanted, not some weak human.
A few minutes passed since Jen was standing there like a statue. She rubbed her forearm to keep warm. The night was getting colder. She felt Damon wrap his jacket around her shoulders and blushed.
"Thanks." Jen muttered, "It's beautiful."
Damon remained quiet, which just urged her words out, "How did you find this place?"
"Katherine and I used to come here." He said, looking at the stars.
"I'm sorry about Katherine." She said. Damon turned to look at her, "You lost her, too."
Damon was taken aback from her words. No one showed him any sympathy about the Katherine thing. The only people he cared about tried to kill her. He stared at the girl next to him, truly bewildered. This was never his intentions. He planned on killing her just to add up to the pile called 'Stefan's miser'. The slight breeze of wind blew her hair his direction. Her scent was intoxicating. The scent blasted through his nostrils. Damon felt the veins under his eyes popped up. His gum was hurting as the fangs intruded. He shook his head and looked away from her.
"Are you okay?" She asked softly, placing a hand on his shoulder.
Damon touched under his eyes, finding the cracks gone and turned back, "Yeah. Just got something in my eyes."
What the hell just happened? Damon wasn't Stefan. So why did he crave her so much? He could even imagine the taste of her blood dancing down his throat. He had self-control, unlike Stefan. Even if blood was literally spattered on his hands, he wouldn't even act like that. But she was just a weak being. He could just kill her right then and there. She meant nothing to him. All that mattered was Katherine. With one little snap, she could break under his hands. But he didn't have the will to hurt her. That was never his intention. Every part of him was screaming for self-control, to keep her safe, to protect her. 
"I think we should get back. It's pretty late." She suggested.
They got in the car and drove back to the Gilbert residence in silence. She didn't forget to return his jacket. Damon threw the keys to her and got out of her car.
"How are you gonna get home?" She asked.
"I can walk." He smirked.
She nodded and turned back to face the house but then she realised if he was going to walk to the Salvatore boarding house, it was quite a long distance. She turned back but Damon was already gone. Her eyes searched the empty street but failed to find his figure.
"Elena?" Jenna called from upstairs as Jen entered the house.
"No. It's Jen." She called back and made her way up, "Where's Elena?" She asked her aunt.
"At Stefan's." Jenna answered.
"Okay. Night, Jenna." She said as she walked into her room.
After she had changed and brushed her teeth, Jennifer was about to settle down the sheets when she saw a crow at the window. She came closer to it and shooed it away, but it didn't move. She picked something up from the floor and threw it at the creature, making it flee.
She got back into bed and turned off the bedside lamp. As she drifted off to onconsciousness, only one person invaded her dreams as well as nightmares: Damon Salvatore.