Witch or vampire?

(Un)Holy Night - part 1

Some kind of hate, by Blood for Blood

"I got some kind of hate,

I got some kind of hate, some hate

I got some kind of hate and I hate the whole human race."

Wrapped up in my thick jacket I sat in the car next to Damon. He was right – if Caroline had a problem with us, we could have fun elsewhere.

The air was chillingly cold and the windshield steamed up despite of the heating.

Damon cheerfully hummed along the Christmas tunes they were playing on the radio.

"Is it possible that Christmas is your favorite time of the year?" I teased him.

He shook his head. "I used to hate Christmas, but this year it's different somehow," he replied with a wink.

"How was your phone call?" he changed topics.

I winced inwardly.

Mom had not been amused. 'ARE YOU COMPLETELY NUTS?' was the friendliest comment I had gotten.

"That bad?" Damon asked softly and looked at me.

I made a face. "At least she didn't disown me," I joked sarcastically.

"Ouch, that doesn't sound nice," he murmured and took my hand.

I laced my fingers with his and the touch soothed me a little.

"It's okay," I replied quietly and took a deep breath.

I would've loved to push away all those dark thoughts. Maybe a hot chocolate and some pool would help.

"Say, does this Grill also have pool tables?" I asked.

"Yep. Wanna play?" he replied.

"I'd love to," I answered and my mood improved significantly.

When we arrived, downtown was still pretty crowded and Damon had to park a little further away from the center.

We walked the remaining distance and watched with great amusement how people headed hastily from shop to shop in search of last minute presents.

„I don't have any present for you," I mentioned after a while.

He stopped walking abruptly and turned to me. Cupping my face with his hands, he locked eyes with me.

„You already have it on you," he said softly.

I realized what he was talking about and blushed.

„Alright, but delivery will take another two months," I replied.

He laughed and let go of me. „That's okay, I can wait."

We continued passing by the shops, but something in the last shop window before the Grill caught my attention and I stopped. It was a small antiques shop.

My gaze fell on an extraordinary piece of jewelry they had on display. On a small pillow made of white velvet, a middle-sized pendant rested.

It was a beautifully crafted silver raven sitting on a window sill, holding a red gem with sparkling facets in his claws.

„Wonderful," I whispered in awe.

The bird was an exquisite piece of handcraft and the feathering of the bird was almost sculptural.

„Found something you like?" Damon asked and placed his chin on my shoulder, following my gaze.

I pointed towards the pendant.