Crush // Ian Somerhalder

116 - Real Life

"....ACTION"

"Morning Stef," Holly smiled, coming through the front door after her routine morning jog.

"I'm surprised my brother lets you go running on your own after everything that's happened," the youngest Salvatore observed, noticing Holly's breathlessness and work out gear.

Holly couldn't help but roll her eyes at this. Ever since Damon managed to free Holly from Lily's clutches he'd been way over protective, even more than he was already. He hated not being with her, panicking at even the smallest thing. There was an occasion where Holly failed to answer her cell after two rings. Damon was convinced something had happened to her, was sure she'd been hurt or taken again. It turned out that in actual fact Holly hadn't even had time to take her phone out of her pocket.

"Why do you think I go so early? He's still fast asleep in bed."

"Oh, is he?" Damon voiced in annoyance, making himself visible at the top of the stairs.

As Damon slowly made his way down the stairs, his eyes not leaving his girlfriend as he did so, Stefan waited for the fallout. This was not going to be pretty.

Damon stepped as close to Holly as he could, an annoyed expression and angry stance taking over his entire body. "Holly, do you have any idea how stupid you've been?"

"I have a life Damon. Going for a run is not stupid?"

"It is when there are a bunch of zombie, douchebag heretics out there who will stop at nothing to make me suffer."

"Damon, listen to me..."

"No, you listen to me god damn it. Holly, if I hadn't got you out Lily would have killed you. You're human. You get hurt, you die. I'm not letting that happen."

Listening to what Damon had to say, Holly could see where he was coming from. She'd been focusing on how stifled she felt, not how scared he was. If it was the other way around she would probably act exactly the same. Maybe she had been stupid. Maybe she should be more worried.

"Baby, I'm fine," Holly whispered, reaching her hand up and placing it on Damon's cheek.

"But you won't be if you keep sneaking away without telling me."

Watching everything that was going on, Stefan tried to think up a compromise, a way they could both live whilst they worked out how to deal with the Lily situation. After getting to know Holly, Stefan could see why Damon loved her so much. She made him better. Made him happy. When he was with Elena he was always trying to meet her expectations, always trying to be the man he thought she wanted him to be. Holly was different. She loved Damon for who he already was. She accepted him in all his forms.

Stefan saw how frantic Damon was when Lily took Holly hostage. He was like a bull in a china shop. He was bouncing off the walls, smashing everything around him. If anything happened to Holly, that would be Damon done. Stefan knew it. There was no Damon without Holly.

Reflecting on what his older brother said about Holly being human, Stefan thought he may have just found a solution. "What about blood?"

"What the hell are you going on about?" Damon frowned, turning from his girlfriend to his brother in frustration.

"Give Holly vampire blood...."