I was your only friend || Enzo St. John

The Bells Still Ring [VII]

It was the first time in many years that Damon enjoyed having a guest in the mansion, someone who could keep him from going off the rails now that Elena was no longer a part of his life, and as for his dear little brother, he did everything in order to avoid him.

"Something in here smells wonderful, thank you Giselle", Damon whistled as he danced his way around the kitchen, locking his eyes upon the beautiful half-dressed girl making pancakes. "You see, my friend is up there getting dressed for the first day at his new job, so I thought pancakes would be celebratory enough for him, as for me, I was thinking about a different kind of dessert", he smirked approaching the girl, gently removing a lock of hair from her neck as he ran his tongue across his front teeth.

"Hey mate, I need your help!", the Salvatore rolled his eyes as he heard Lorenzo shouting from upstairs, realizing that he would have to enjoy his little snack later.

"What seems to be the problem, besides that hideous striped shirt? You're a professor now, not Al Capone's driver", Damon mumbled from behind the door as he witnessed a fashion crisis. "You need to get out of late uncle Zack's closet if you want anyone on this earth to take you seriously, I pulled a lot of string in order to get you this job, you can't embarrass me. So, follow me, little grasshopper."

Both made their way towards Damon's room where Enzo was presented a variety of black shirts and black jeans. "Wow, that's a tough choice, mate. We could be in here all day", Enzo ridiculed.

"Mock me all you want, but since you've been wearing that Augustine uniform for the past century, I've been doing my thing, being a fashion icon, sex symbol, first row tickets at Paris Fashion Week and banging models", he winked in reply as he shrugged his shoulders. "So then we agree. Get dressed and then come downstairs, we'll have breakfast." The conversation was cut short by a knock at the door. "Saved by the bell, that must be Alaric", he grinned, rushing downstairs to open the door.

"Morning sunshine, there's breakfast in the kitchen, go help yourself. Enzo's getting dressed for school. It's funny how fast they grow up", Damon laughed as he greeted the second person in this universe he considered a friend.

"Good morning to you too, Damon. I see you've got company", Rick rubbed his neck as he entered the kitchen, being surprised by the landscape. "Do you really think that you'll get Elena back by acting up?"

"Don't be so dramatic, I am neither acting up nor do I want Elena back. Now shut up before I push this pancake down your throat", Damon smiled sarcastically, thinking that if he'd say it out loud long enough, he'll end up believing it himself. Sure, it was nice having his mate back, having a different girl over every night, fulfilling his every desire, feeding on human blood, but none of the above could fill the hole Elena left in his heart. It's just smoke and mirrors.

"If you say so", Alaric replied under his breath as he heard footsteps down the grandiose hardwood stairs. "You must be Lorenzo, right?", he grinned politely as he took a look at the strange vampire that appeared in front of him.

"And you must be Alaric. First of all, I want to thank you in person for this opportunity. I really needed this", Enzo extended his hand to shake the fellow professor's as they got acquainted.

"Well, all I did was get you the interview, the rest you did by yourself. The board really loved you, they said you are an old soul", Ric chuckled. "You didn't compel them tough, did you?"

"No, no, we just spent hours talking about WWII, we even argued about a couple of facts they got wrong. The books the kids are studying these days... let's just say are a little far fetched", Enzo joked as he grabbed his leather jacket from the hanger and poured himself a cup of coffee.