A/N: I can't begin to apologise for the lack of an update over the last several months. I have no excuse. I know some of you have been keeping tabs on this story, and I'd like to thank each and everyone one of you who have followed, favourited and reviewed this story. I am working on it again and hope to have it finished (to the end of Season One) as soon as possible. Without further ado, here's the next chapter which is, admittedly, not one of the best.

As ever, the only thing that belongs to me is Scarlett...

(Unedited)

"Damon…" The vampire in question smiled as he woke, his gaze meeting a pair of beautiful dark blue eyes. Closing his own eyes, Damon pulled Scarlett closer, revelling in the feel of her warm, soft skin next to his.

"I was dreaming," he murmured as he felt her begin to trace circles on his stomach.

"Was it a good dream?" she asked quietly, her head resting on his chest, just over his heart.

"Not as good as reality." He felt Scarlett shift and opened his eyes once more to find her straddling his waist, grinning impishly down at him.

"What was happening in this dream, exactly?" she asked as she lay down, her entire body pressed intimately to his, her lips a hairs breadth away from his own. Damon smirked at her actions, one hand moving to tuck a strand of fiery red hair behind her ear while the other gently stroked her side.

"Well, it started off a bit like this," he began, his voice husky as Scarlett leant forward and pressed teasing kisses along his collarbone.

"And what next?"

"Then I did this," he said, using his vampire speed to switch their positions so that Scarlett was on her back, her hair fanned around her and her slender legs wrapped around his waist. He smiled as she giggled; feeling it reverberating through his body. Damon swooped down, capturing Scarlett's smiling lips in a kiss, growling low in his throat as her lips parted willingly for him, her body rising to meet his. He was intoxicated, completely obsessed. Everything about this woman enticed him; her smile, her scent, her mind... Pulling back, he smiled down at her, lifting a hand to cup her cheek and brushing her swollen lips with his thumb. Scarlett's returning smile was gentle as she let out a small, happy sigh.

"I love you, Damon," she whispered.

Damon jolted awake with a gasp, his hands clutching blindly at the sheets. His gaze quickly scanned the room before coming to rest on the other side of the bed. The empty side of the bed… Damon frowned as he ran a hand down his face. This wasn't the first time he'd dreamt of Scarlett, and frankly, it was innocent compared to some of his earlier dreams. And yet, this one terrified him.

Scarlett had said she loved him.

So what if it was in a dream? That had to mean something. Was she in love with him? Was his subconscious trying to warn him, or… Or was he in love with her? Shaking his head to rid his mind of that ridiculous thought, he quickly jumped out of bed and walked to his bathroom. Maybe a cold shower would help get his thoughts back on track.

After his shower, Damon dressed and poured himself a glass of blood from the decanter on his dresser. He took a small sip and sighed – it was the perfect temperature. Well, not quite. It would be better if it was straight from the vein. He lifted the glass to take another sip when a loud, obnoxious banging started to pound through the house. Damon growled slightly as his head started to pound along with the persistent rhythm rocking around his bedroom. Apparently it was time to have a chat to his little brother.

Glass in hand, Damon sauntered along the corridor, studiously ignoring Scarlett's door at the end of the corridor. If he listened carefully enough, he swore he could hear her groan as she shifted in her bed… Damon slapped himself on the cheek, turning his gaze to the stairs up to his brother's room as he hastened away from Scarlett's room. Taking the stairs two at a time, he strolled into Stefan's room to find his brother doing pull ups from one of the rafters.

"Could you turn it up a little bit?" Damon called over the loud rock music. "It's not annoying yet."

"Sorry," Stefan grunted, not pausing for a second. Rolling his eyes, Damon turned to Stefan's stereo and turned the music off, thankful for the peace and quiet, while Stefan dropped to the floor and began doing push ups.

"When are you going back to school?" Damon asked conversationally.

"Soon," his brother responded shortly. Damon grimaced as he watched his brother – this self-detox was beginning to get annoying.

"Oh come one, just drink already," he exclaimed as he crouched next to Stefan, waving his half full glass of blood under his brother's nose. "Come on, this self-detox – it's not natural," he said, voicing his earlier thoughts.

"Will you get that away from me please?" Stefan replied, moving away to do some push ups with his feet on a chair.

"How long did it take you to wean yourself off it after you last indulged?" Damon asked, genuinely curious. Stefan's silence was all the answer his brother needed. "That's not good."

"I'll be fine," Stefan said. "It just takes a little bit of time." Damon shook his head at his brother's words.

"I don't get it," he said. "You know; you don't have to kill to survive – that's what blood banks are for. I haven't hunted a human in way too long." An image of Scarlett came unbidden to Damon's mind, her gentle, encouraging smile as she offered him her wrist.

"Wow, I'm impressed," Stefan said sarcastically, dragging Damon from his thoughts.

"It's completely self-serving," he replied quickly, standing and moving away from his brother. "I'm trying to get the town off the trail of vampires, which is not very easy considering there's an entire tomb of them running around." Damon took another sip of blood as Stefan stood and finally met his brother's eyes.

"What are we planning on doing about that?" Stefan asked, crossing his arms across his chest.

"We're not going to be doing much of anything if you don't have your strength." Damon paused, but Stefan simply smiled and looked away, making no move to reply. "There's nothing wrong with partaking in a healthy diet of human blood from a blood bank. You're not actually killing anyone."

"I have my reasons," Stefan said quietly as he turned away from Damon.

"Well what are those holier-than-thou reasons? Cause you know, we've never actually discussed that." Stefan turned back and again folded his arms across his chest. Damon didn't need Scarlett's powers to know that his brother was feeling defensive. He casually sat down in one of the many chairs in Stefan's room and placed his glass on a side table. "You know; I'd love to hear this story." Stefan glared at his older brother.

"You're really enjoying this, aren't you? Just… watching me struggle."

"Very much so," Damon replied with a smirk. Stefan slowly walked towards his brother.

"I hate to break it to you Damon, but I actually have it under complete control." Damon's brows drew together in a frown as he met his brother's steady gaze.

"You do?" he asked sceptically. Stefan smiled slightly as he nodded, humming in agreement. "Oh… Well, then you should just carry on making the rest of us vampires look bad." Damon slowly rose from his seat and smirked at his brother. "Have a great day, Stef." He strolled from the room, and began to head downstairs, listening intently to his brother's movements. As soon as he heard him take a step towards the end table where he'd left his glass of blood, Damon smirked in victory and sped back up the stairs at vampire speed. He strode back into the room to find Stefan much closer to the table than he had been when he left, his dark gaze rising guiltily from the glass. "Oh, hey – almost forgot something." Picking up the glass, Damon took a large gulp and sighed in pleasure as he left his brother to his detox.

Scarlett yawned as she poured herself a large cup of coffee. Her head was still pounding from the rude awakening she'd been forced to endure this morning – who knew Stefan had such bad taste in music? Once the music had stopped, Scarlett had been left with nothing but silence and her hectic thoughts for company. It had been just over two weeks since she and Stefan were abducted. Two weeks since she'd found out that Elena had fed Stefan her blood to heal him so that he could fight Frederick. It had also been nearly two weeks since she'd seen her godfather in person. She heard him sometimes, when he'd walk past her bedroom door or when, like now, he'd play extremely loud and very annoying music, but for some reason he was avoiding her. It was almost as though he thought she'd judge him for drinking Elena's blood. She wouldn't, of course, but she wondered if he knew that.

Sipping her coffee, she turned and made her way upstairs, hesitating at the stairs that would lead up to Stefan's room. Just as she stepped forward, Damon appeared in front of her, his typical smirk in place as he stared down at her.

"I'm going to say good morning to Stefan," Scarlett said, trying to move past him but he slid across the step, lifting his arm so that he was blocking her way.

"Best not, he's… exercising." Scarlett frowned slightly at Damon's hesitation, sensing that he was lying to her. None the less, she took a step backwards, her frown increasing as she watched Damon visibly relax now that she was a couple of feet away from him.

"How's he doing?" she asked carefully, her gaze falling to the glass of red liquid in Damon's hands. Damon, however, didn't notice where Scarlett's gaze had gone. He was instead trying not to think about Scarlett's body pressed against him, her lips on his, her scent enveloping his senses… "Damon?" Damon's eyes snapped open to meet Scarlett's puzzled gaze. "Are you okay?" Clearing his throat, Damon nodded and leant against the wall, trying to look as casual as possible as he took a quick sip from his glass.

"He's getting there," he replied vaguely, ignoring Scarlett's question about his own wellbeing. Scarlett's eyes narrowed slightly, well aware that Damon was trying to shift her attention from him, though she wasn't sure why.

"Is he avoiding me, or are you purposefully keeping me away from him?" she asked, resting her free hand on her hip as she looked up at the vampire before her, her dark eyes slightly narrowed. Damon's lips quirked slightly at how perceptive she was.

"Would you hate me if I said a little of both?" Scarlett had just opened her mouth to reply when Damon stepped forward and gently touched her arm making her pause. "Just, hear me out – I'm trying to keep you safe. We both are." The honesty in Damon's voice gave Scarlett pause, and she hesitantly opened her mind, allowing his emotions to filter into her head. He was worried about her. About her and about Stefan. There was something else as well, some emotion that Damon was burying so deeply that even her powers wouldn't let her see it. "Stefan's not himself at the moment, and he'd never forgive himself if he hurt you. I'm just helping out." Scarlett glanced down to where Damon's hand rested on her arm and pulled back slightly, letting her arm slide through Damon's grasp until she could take his hand in hers, entwining their fingers and squeezing gently, feeling his pulse jump slightly beneath her fingertips.

"Since when do you help Stefan?" she asked softly, her gaze lifting to the vampire in front of her. Damon sighed slightly and let his thumb gently brush against hers as he stared into her eyes.

"Since, for once, we both want the same thing." Scarlett's lips lifted in a small, hesitant smile which made Damon's heart leap. Clearing his throat once more, he dropped Scarlett's hand and ushered her down the hall towards her bedroom. "Don't you have to get ready for school or something?" he asked quickly, gesturing for her to continue down the hall without him. He watched as Scarlett made it to her door, turning when she stepped inside.

"Damon?" Letting out a small, inaudible sigh, he glanced over his shoulder at Scarlett with a tight smile to find her hesitating in her doorway.

"Yes?" he asked, his tone more impatient than he wanted.

"Thank you," the empath said quietly. Damon blinked once, then again, confused by her words and the sincerity he could hear in them.

"For what?" he asked, his eyebrows lowered in a frown.

"For looking out for me," Scarlett replied with a smile as she closed the door behind her to get ready for school. Damon stared at her bedroom door for a few moments, trying to suppress the urge to shove it open and claim Scarlett as his own. With a growl, he turned and stalked down the hallway to his own bedroom, slamming the door behind him.

Scarlett pulled up in front of the Gilbert house and beeped her horn, seeing Elena stood in the doorway with Jenna and someone she vaguely recognised. She smiled as Elena jogged down the path towards her, a travel mug of coffee in hand, and slipped into the seat beside her.

"Who was that?" the redhead asked as she pulled onto the road and Elena put on her seatbelt. Her sister groaned and took a sip of her coffee before responding.

"That was Uncle John," she said darkly, making Scarlett frown.

"Uncle John's back? Didn't he and Jenna used to…?"

"Don't remind me," Elena replied with a grimace and Scarlett chuckled softly, Elena joining in soon after.

"So what's he doing here?" Scarlett asked a little later as she parked at the school, the two girls grabbing their bags and swiftly making their way inside. Elena shook her head slightly as she held a book to her chest.

"He didn't say." Scarlett nodded as they paused by her locker so that she could get some books out. "But he said his trip was open-ended."

"Well, that's never a good sign," Scarlett said, shooting a sympathetic smile towards her half-sister. She knew how much the girl disliked her uncle, and rightly so – he was kind of a jerk.

"How's Stefan?" Scarlett smiled slightly at the topic change and closed her locker, holding her books in front of her as the two girls walked down the hall.

"If I knew, I'd tell you, but he and Damon seem to be working together to keep me away from my godfather at the moment." Elena's brows furrowed in a frown as she pushed her hair over her shoulder.

"They're working together?" she asked warily.

"Worrying, I know," Scarlett replied with a smirk.

"And how are things with you and Damon?" Scarlett glanced at Elena from the corner of her eye before staring resolutely ahead. She could feel the brunette's curiosity reaching towards her, the walls around her mind not as strong as they should be. They hadn't been right since the attack.

"What are you talking about?" the redhead asked, answering Elena's question with one of her own. She winced slightly at how defensive her voice sounded, and knew that Elena had heard it too when she caught the girl smiling from the corner of her eye.

"I'm not blind, Scarlett. I know you have feeling for him," Elena said, lowering her voice slightly as she leaned towards her sister. "And after the way he acted when you were kidnapped, I'd say it's pretty clear he has feelings for you too." Scarlett frowned as she digested that. Damon had been acting differently around her lately. Sweeter, more charming, almost like he really did have feelings for her… But then this morning he'd been so stand-offish and distant. Talk about mixed signals. She wanted nothing more than to believe Elena's words, but until she had some kind of proof from the man himself, she couldn't risk putting her heart on the line.

"I don't know," Scarlett said honestly as she and Elena paused in the corridor, turning to look at each other as the students around them gradually made their way to class. "I can't say nothing's happening, because that would be a lie. But I honestly have no idea what Damon feels about me, if anything." Elena lifted a hand and gently rubbed Scarlett's arm in comfort. She could tell that the situation with Damon, not knowing how he felt, was really getting to Scarlett and had been for quite a long time.

"You're in love with him, aren't you?" she asked softly, wondering if her sister would trust her enough to admit something that she could see with her own eyes. Scarlett closed her eyes as she took a deep breath. Was it that obvious? And if Elena could tell, could Damon?

"Yes," she replied quietly, opening her eyes and meeting Elena's dark gaze, waiting for the inevitable tirade from the brunette of reasons why she couldn't be in love with Damon. But it never came. Scarlett gasped as Elena leant forward and pulled her in for a hug, squeezing tightly. She could feel Elena's need to comfort her, to reassure her that everything would be fine, and she opened her mind slightly, allowing that warmth into her mind as she hugged the girl back. When Elena eventually pulled back, she reached up to cup Scarlett's cheek.

"I've never thought the best of Damon, but if you're in love with him then he must have some redeeming qualities," she said with a small smile. Scarlett's lips quirked slightly, feeling somewhat relieved now that someone finally knew how she felt, even if it wasn't the person she wanted to know. "And remember, if you need to talk, I'm here for you."

"Thank you, Lena," Scarlett said softly, giving her sister a final, gentle squeeze before the two girls turned and made their way to class.

Across town, Damon walked up the drive towards Founders Hall. He nodded in greeting to one of the guards on duty who led him into the building and towards one of the back rooms where the Founders Council was in session. Damon smiled at the guard who held the door open for him and slipped inconspicuously into the back of the room just as Sheriff Forbes was giving her report.

"The coroner's office has officially ruled Vicki Donovan's death a drug overdose. Her family has been notified. The truth will stay in this room and we can put this behind us."

"Thank you, Sheriff," Mayor Lockwood said as he stepped forward, allowing Liz to move back into the crowd. She smiled when she spotted Damon and quietly made her way to his side. "And onto a more pressing issue – John Gilbert has asked to say a few words." Damon's smile dropped from his face as he turned to see a light haired man step forward – he hadn't been aware that there were any other Gilberts in Mystic Falls. "Welcome back, John. It's good to see you." The Mayor shook John's hand before moving to one side, letting the newest member of the Council have centre stage.

"Thank you Mayor. Hello everyone, it's wonderful to see you," John began, looking around the room with a sombre expression on his face. "I wish it were under better circumstances. As a Founding Family member, I find it's my duty to report some very distressing news." Damon turned to Liz, leaning down to speak softly in her ear.

"He's a Gilbert?" he asked with a frown. Liz nodded once.

"Elena's uncle. His name's John, but I call him jackass."

"A hospital blood bank in the neighbouring county of Amherst has reported several break-ins over the past two weeks," John continued, making Damon frown. "Seven hunters, four campers and two state employees have been reported missing as well. All of this within in a seventy five mile radius of Mystic Falls." At this, the Mayor stepped forward.

"Okay, okay, no need to get alarmed right at this moment," he said with a smile, attempting to placate his fellow Council members.

"Meaning he doesn't want to cancel the Founders Day kick-off party," Liz told Damon with a smirk.

"You think all of your problems are over, but I'm here to tell you nothing's been solved," John finished, his gaze travelling over everyone in the room before coming to rest on Damon.

Scarlett sat on top of one of the desks in Ric's classroom, Elena stood beside her, as the pair waited for their history teacher to tell them why he'd kept them back after class.

"I made a copy of a paper that Jeremy wrote for me," Scarlett's father said, picking up some papers from his desk and handing them to Elena. "I think you should both take a look at it." Her curiosity piqued, Scarlett leant forward to read over Elena's shoulder. Her eyes widened as she caught sight of the title: Fact or Fiction – The truth about vampires in Mystic Falls.

"Jeremy wrote this?" Elena asked quietly, her voice strained as she clutched the paper in her hand.

"He was very clear that he didn't think it was real," Ric told them, glancing between Elena and Scarlett as the two girls visibly paled.

"I really hope you're right because I've done so much to protect him from all this," the brunette said, giving Scarlett a small smile as the redhead rubbed her back soothingly.

"You've done everything you can, Elena," Scarlett told her sister quietly. She knew how much it meant for Elena to keep Jeremy safe, and while she didn't necessarily agree with her friend's decision to remove Jeremy's memories, she would support her. Elena handed the paper to her so that she could flick through it quickly before giving it back to Ric.

"So how do you both deal with it?" Ric asked, glancing between the two girls.

"What do you mean?" Elena asked in return.

"With all the lies and the secrets… You have to lie to everyone who's important to you."

"Not everyone," Scarlett murmured. She glanced up, seeing both Ric and Elena staring at her, Elena with a small smile on her face.

"It's not safe for them to know the truth," Elena explained as he turned back to Ric. "So yes, we keep it from some of the people we care about but it's only because we love them." Ric nodded, considering her words, before he stood and moved to stand behind his desk.

"I think Stefan's a good guy," he began, and Scarlett closed her eyes, knowing exactly what was coming next. "But uh, at the end of the day he's still a vampire." Scarlett's eyes snapped open – that wasn't what she was expecting. She frowned at her father and stood up, feeling a twinge of annoyance at his words.

"Stefan is a good guy, and he's been there for me my entire life, so I'd really appreciate it if you didn't talk about him like that," she said evenly, her gaze narrowed on Ric as the man stared back at her calmly.

"I know it's hard to understand," Elena said, stepping forward and squeezing Scarlett's arm reassuringly. "But Stefan's different – he would never do anything to hurt us."

"And what about Damon?" Ric asked, his gaze fixing on Scarlett almost challengingly. Scarlett was about to reply when she was cut off by Elena once more.

"Damon would never hurt Scarlett – I think he more than proved that the other week," the brunette said firmly. Scarlett's gaze snapped to Elena, her mouth opening slightly in shock. Elena had just… defended Damon. Scarlett shot her sister a small, thankful smile which Elena returned with one of her own. "We should really get going." With a nod to her father, Scarlett left the room with Elena, the two walking back towards the school parking lot. After dropping Elena off at her house, Scarlett made her way back home.

It was dark by the time Scarlett made it back to the Boarding House, and Scarlett smiled up at the building as she saw the glow from the lights inside. She hurried in, following the delicious smell of food towards the kitchen and paused in the doorway when she saw Damon stood at the stove, a towel thrown over his shoulder as he stirred something.

"What's this?" she asked as she moved further into the room, placing her bag and school books on the end of the table as Damon turned and flashed her a charming smile.

"I thought you might be hungry," he said as he walked to the fridge and pulled out a bottle of iced water. "Stefan's gone to see Elena, so I figured we could spend some time together." Scarlett frowned at his words as she moved to lean against the counter, folding her arms across her stomach.

"You couldn't get away from me fast enough this morning – what's changed?" she asked, watching as he paused in pouring two glasses of water. Damon flashed his charming smile once more as he finished pouring the drinks and placed the bottle on the counter.

"You noticed that, huh?" The corner of Scarlett's mouth twitched as he handed her a glass, his fingers brushing lightly against hers. "I didn't sleep very well last night – it's no excuse, but I'm sorry." Scarlett's brows rose at his apology, but instead of commenting she took a small sip of her drink, keeping her thoughts to herself.

"So, how was your day?" Damon asked, swiftly changing the subject as he served dinner – a rather tasty chicken stew from a recipe he'd picked up on his travels. Scarlett picked up Damon's glass and followed him to the long kitchen table, taking a seat across from him.

"Fine, I guess. Elena told me her Uncle John's back in town," she said offhandedly as she began eating. Damon watched her for a moment as he took a sip of water, unreasonably pleased to see her seeming to enjoy his cooking, before replying.

"I met him this morning." Scarlett glanced up, her gaze curious. "He was at the Council meeting." Scarlett rolled her eyes.

"Of course he was. Was he throwing his weight around again? I didn't think it was possible, but he may just be a bigger ass than you." Damon placed a hand to his heart, as though wounded, which made Scarlett smirk. She paused eating to sip her drink, her eyes lifting to meet Damon's as he gazed at her. "You're being nice again," she said as she put her glass down and rested her head on her hand as she leant on the table.

"I'm always nice to you," Damon said teasingly, returning his attention to his food, though he was hyper aware that Scarlett was still staring at him. That she was less than a metre away from him, close enough to touch…

"If you're not careful, other people might start noticing." They finished their meal in silence, Damon sneaking glances at Scarlett every so often. He tried to stop, but it was impossible. Scarlett made him feel… Well, that was just it. She made him feel again. She made him feel everything; the good, the bad and everything in between. It was one of the things he loved about her.

Damon froze. He carefully placed his fork back on his plate before flattening his hand on the table. Love. Did he love Scarlett? It didn't feel the same as with Katherine, so he couldn't be sure. But he felt something for her, and that something was a lot more than simply liking her. Scarlett smiled as she stood up and cleared away the dishes, moving to put everything in the dishwasher. She could feel Damon's emotions reaching out to her - his confusion, his restraint, and something else. He felt happy; happier than he had been in quite a while, and that happiness was infectious. She hummed quietly under her breath as she finished cleaning up before turning to Damon to find him gazing at her with a soft smile on his face.

"I think I'm going to call it a night," she said quietly as she approached him. Damon stood quickly, so quickly he banged his leg against the table and swore. Scarlett tried to stifle her laugh as she reached him and took his hand, squeezing it gently in comfort as Damon scowled down at her. Ignoring his expression, she leant up and pressed a soft kiss to his cheek. "Thank you for dinner," she murmured, her face inches from his. Damon gazed down at her, feeling his expression softening as he reached up and tucked a stray lock of her hair behind her ear.

"You're welcome," he replied, his hand falling to his side as she turned and walked away leaving him alone with his thoughts.

Scarlett groaned as she heard her phone ringing and blindly reached over to her nightstand, opening one eye to see which crazy person would be calling at this time on a Saturday morning. When she saw the name flashing on her screen, Scarlett sat up and hit the answer button.

"Morning Lena," she said groggily.

"I woke you up, didn't I?" Scarlett chuckled slightly at the guilt she could hear in Elena's voice.

"No worries – is everything okay?"

"I need to see you and Damon." Scarlett's eyes opened wide at that, her mind coming in to focus as she gave Elena her full attention.

"You mean Stefan, right?" she asked hesitantly.

"No. I mean Damon. Can you both come over?" Scarlett glanced at her alarm clock – it was just before eight.

"Uh, sure. We'll be there soon." Hanging up, Scarlett hurried from her bed and dressed quickly in burgundy jeans and a cream blouse, slipping a pair of flats on as she grabbed her keys and walked down the hall towards Damon's room. She hesitated outside for a moment before knocking gently. "Damon?" There was no answer, so Scarlett gingerly opened the door and stepped inside. The room was just as she remembered, the light filtering softly through the drapes. She could see Damon asleep on the bed and padded across the room to his side.

Reaching out to wake him, Scarlett paused as Damon shifted, mumbling in his sleep. A tender smile curved Scarlett's lips as she gazed down at Damon. He looked so peaceful in his sleep that she really didn't have the heart to wake him. Just as she turned to leave, Damon's eyes half opened and his lips stretched in a lazy smile.

"I wondered how long it would take for you to join me," he said suggestively, patting the bed beside him. Scarlett rolled her eyes even as her stomach twisted into knots at Damon's proposition.

"Elena wants to see us," she said softly causing Damon to groan. Rolling onto his side, he propped himself up on one arm and gazed up at Scarlett.

"Are you sure you're talking to the right brother?" he asked. He'd been having a really good dream – a dream that involved the redhead now stood by the side of his bed – and didn't particularly want to spoil his morning by going to see Elena Gilbert.

"I asked if she meant you, and she did. So, are you coming?" Damon's lips curved into a slow, suggestive smirk as he looked up at her and watched as Scarlett blushed, realising the double entendre behind her words. "Forget it, I'll go by myself," she murmured, turning on her heel.

"I'll meet you downstairs in five minutes," Damon called after her, chuckling as she slammed the door behind her and continued to curse under her breath. Jumping from the bed, Damon quickly dressed and made his way downstairs, listening intently to see where Scarlett had gone. He found her in the kitchen, sipping from a mug of coffee and glaring moodily out of the window. She turned when she heard Damon enter the kitchen and her glare intensified as she put her mug in the sink and walked towards him.

"Shall we?" she asked sharply as she strode past. Damon grinned as he followed her outside. Scarlett paused to glance back at him, her blue eyes flashing with annoyance. "Who's driving?" she asked bluntly. With a smirk, Damon took Scarlett by the arm and gently tugged her towards his car, opening the passenger door for her. The empath quickly slid into the car and Damon moved to the driver's side at vampire speed, climbing into his seat and pulling away from the house.

"So, what does Elena Gilbert want with us at this time in the morning?" he asked as he drove into town. From the corner of his eye, he watched as Scarlett shrugged one shoulder, her gaze fixed out of the window.

"She didn't say." Damon flashed a smile at Scarlett.

"Well, I happen to love surprises," he said sarcastically. Scarlett let out an involuntary chuckle at his words, hyper aware of the fact that Damon was spending more time watching her than he was watching the road.

"Shouldn't you be paying attention to what you're doing?" she asked, glancing at him quickly from the corner of her eye to find his gaze fixed on her.

"Don't you trust me anymore, Scar?" Damon asked teasingly, secretly curious as to what her answer would be.

"I do, but I'd still prefer it if you watched the road," Scarlett said, returning her gaze to the scenery outside the car. Damon felt a certain sense of pride as he pulled up in front of the Gilbert house and cut the engine. Before Scarlett could blink, the vampire was out of the car and opening her door. Stepping out, Scarlett glanced around the area to see if anyone had noticed Damon's show. "Is that a good idea?" she hissed under her breath.

"There's no one around to see," Damon replied calmly as they walked up the path to Elena's front door. Scarlett rolled her eyes at his words as she knocked on the door and waited for her friend to answer. They didn't have to wait long before the door opened to reveal Elena, who smiled brightly at Scarlett.

"Oh good, you're here," she said, her voice more than slightly relieved. Scarlett's brows drew together in a frown as she and Damon entered the house and Elena gave her a brief hug.

"You said you wanted to see us, so we came straight over," the redhead said as she pulled back.

"Apparently we're easy like that," Damon added sarcastically, causing both Scarlett and Elena to glare at him. Elena raised her finger to her lips and nodded towards the kitchen where Jeremy was sat, before gesturing up the stairs. "Elena, I am a one-woman man, I will not go to your bedroom with you," Damon said loudly.

"Oh, for the love of…" Scarlett murmured as she grabbed Damon's arm and dragged him up the stairs, unaware of the grin on his lips.

"Does he have to do that?" Elena asked her sister softly as they reached the top of the stairs and moved towards her room.

"He delights in annoying me," Scarlett replied. Elena smiled slightly at the redhead's words and glanced at Damon to find him watching Scarlett with an unreadable expression. Scarlett led the way to Elena's room, opening the door and ushering Damon inside. The vampire glanced around, having never seen the inside of Elena's room before, before making himself comfortable on the brunette's bed. Scarlett perched on the window seat, one leg tucked under herself as she met Elena's gaze.

"So Elena, did you know that your uncle's been kicking it with the Founder's Council?" Damon asked Elena, drawing the brunette's attention to him. Elena frowned at his words.

"What?" she asked, surprised.

"Yep."

"Perfect, we'll just add it to the growing list of how everything's falling apart." Scarlett had been paying little attention to this conversation, her attention having been caught by a broken lamp hidden away in the corner.

"What happened there?" she asked, nodding towards the disturbance. Damon frowned as he followed Scarlett's gaze.

"Uh, nothing…" Elena replied. Scarlett raised her eyebrow at her sister's words, sensing the lie in them. Elena sighed, knowing she'd been caught, before moving to stand at the end of the bed. "It's actually why I wanted to talk to the two of you." Scarlett and Damon shared a quick glance before returning their attention to Elena. "I'm worried about Stefan – he says that everything's okay, but he's clearly struggling. How long is it gonna take before he's back to normal?" Scarlett turned to Damon who was lying on Elena's bed with one arm behind his head. She could sense how uncomfortable he was with Elena's question, but it seemed he was more uncomfortable with the fact that she was there to hear his answer.

"A few days, give or take," he said evasively, his light blue eyes darting to Scarlett to find her watching him intently.

"It's been a few days," Elena countered.

"Give, then. I dunno – what's the big deal?" Damon jumped up from the bed and moved over to Elena's dressing table, his gaze roaming over the many photos that littered the mirror.

"He's not himself, Damon," Elena argued, looking to Scarlett to back her up.

"Well, maybe his problem is he's spent too long notbeing himself." Damon's lips twitched into a small smile as his gaze fell on a photograph of two young girls, one with haphazard red curls, and he reached out to pluck it from the mirror. "It is what it is, Elena." He turned to look at Scarlett, his smile widening slightly as he met her gaze. "The Stefan the two of you know is the good behaviour Stefan; rein it in Stefan, fight against his nature to an annoyingly obsessive nature Stefan. But if you think that there's not another part to this, then neither of you have been paying attention." Elena strode up to the vampire and plucked the photograph of her and Scarlett from his fingers.

"He's not you – not even close," she said firmly, but Scarlett couldn't help but ponder Damon's words.

"Well, he doesn't want to be me," Damon explained. "But that doesn't mean that deep down that he's not." Damon turned to look at Scarlett and found her staring at him, a thoughtful frown on her face.

"What do you think Scarlett?" Elena asked, her tone worried. She could see the thoughtful expression on her sister's face, and wondered what it meant. Scarlett met Elena's dark brown eyes and gave her a small, reassuring smile.

"I think that we'll just have to see what happens, and support Stefan as much as we can," the empath said softly. Elena nodded at her words and Scarlett stood to give the brunette a tight hug. After a few moments the girls pulled away from each other. "Are you going to the party tonight?"

"Yeah, John's making us all go – something about being Founding Family members…" Scarlett smiled as Elena rolled her eyes.

"We'll see you there, then."

"Will Stefan be there?" Elena asked. Scarlett glanced at Damon, who shrugged slightly as he turned to face them, slipping his hands into his pockets. Elena sighed before nodding. "I guess I'll wait and see," she said quietly.

Later that evening, Scarlett stood in front of her mirror, gazing at her reflection with a critical eye. Once they'd left Elena's, Damon had driven them back to the Boarding House and disappeared into his room without another word to her, leaving Scarlett more confused than ever. He'd flirted repeatedly with her all morning, and suddenly he was ignoring her again. Damon's actions left her feeling both emotionally and physically drained, and she honestly wasn't sure how much longer she could take it.

Scarlett frowned at her reflection as she applied a final dusting of blush, her thoughts whirling in her head. Being in love with Damon Salvatore was proving to be more of a pain than she could possibly have imagined, and that was without taking his feelings into account (whatever his feelings were). That was the problem - not knowing how he felt. It would be so easy for her to find out, to force her way into his mind and read his emotions and know exactly how he felt about her, but she would never do that. That wasn't who she was. She wanted - no, she needed Damon to tell her how he felt himself. She needed to hear it from his lips.

A knock sounded at her door and with a last glance at her reflection, Scarlett walked over to it and pulled it open, her eyes widening as she saw Damon stood in the hallway wearing a suit and a small smile. Damon's gaze briefly travelled down Scarlett's body, noting the tight fit of her dark purple dress and the way it left her shoulders bare. He swallowed slightly, well aware he was staring, before offering the empath his most charming smile.

"You ready?" he asked, offering his arm. Scarlett eyed him hesitantly before nodding and slipping her hand into the crook of his arm. Damon led her down the stairs, his mind whirling. He'd spent much of the afternoon thinking about the redhead and staring at the photograph he'd stolen from Elena's room that morning when neither of the girls was looking . It was a beautiful picture, taken not that long ago from what he could tell. Scarlett was smiling widely at the camera, her blue eyes bright with happiness. It was a smile Damon didn't think he'd seen on her face since he'd arrived, but that he desperately wanted to see.

They met Stefan in the parlour and Scarlett visibly brightened as she moved to hug her godfather, both of them oblivious to Damon glaring at them from a few feet away.

"How are you?" Scarlett asked Stefan quietly as they followed Damon out to the car – this was the first time she'd spoken to him in what felt like ages. The vampire gave her a small, tight smile as he opened the door for her.

"I'm okay," he replied quietly, shooting a glare at Damon when his brother snorted in disbelief. Thankfully, Scarlett seemed to be ignoring the eldest Salvatore for some reason, so Stefan let his actions slide. The drive to the Lockwood house was awkward, with just the dull hum of the engine to break silence that had settled over them. Damon repeatedly glanced in his rear view mirror to see Scarlett staring determinedly out of the window, although the blush on her cheeks let him know that she knew he was watching her. Once they arrived, Scarlett linked her arm with Stefan's and the three of them swiftly made their way up the front steps. Stefan paused on the porch, glancing nervously up at the house.

"Oh God… I shouldn't be here," he said softly, and Scarlett gently squeezed his arm in reassurance as she pulled him into the house.

"Come on, don't be a downer," Damon said brightly, glaring at a boy who was paying a little too much attention to Scarlett for his liking. "It's a party for the Founding Families – that would be us." He smirked at Scarlett, but the girl completely ignored him and focused all her attention on Stefan, making Damon frown. "It'd be rude to skip it."

"I really liked you a whole lot better when you hated everybody," Stefan said sarcastically as he glanced around at all the people milling about. Scarlett chuckled slightly at his words which made Stefan smile, but as he glanced up at his brother he noticed the oddest expression on his face; hurt. Stefan blinked, sure he was seeing things, and when he opened his eyes Damon's trademark smirk was back in place as he nodded at someone across the room.

"Oh I still hate most of them, but I love that they love me," he drawled. Stefan quirked an eyebrow at his phrasing.

"Most?" he asked, tilting his head slightly in the direction of his goddaughter though she didn't see.

"There may be one person in this town I don't dislike," Damon replied vaguely, though Stefan saw his brother's gaze shift briefly to Scarlett and he sighed. When did things get so complicated? Scarlett glanced at the brothers, her eyes narrowing slightly as she saw how fidgety Stefan was.

"How are you feeling?" she asked quietly, her voice full of concern. Stefan smiled and patted her hand as he felt an aura of calm wash over him.

"Better now," he replied and Scarlett smiled brightly up at him.

"Then I'll just have to hang out with you all night," she teased, making Stefan laugh. Damon glared slightly at his brother. How was he supposed to spend time with Scarlett if she was going to spend the whole night keeping his brother under control? He let out a frustrated sigh as he turned to the pair, moving so that he was closer to the redhead and internally cringing when he felt her tense at his nearness.

"No cravings, no urges?" he asked, wanting to make sure that it was safe for him to leave Scarlett with his brother. Stefan shook his head. "Is that whiskey you've been drinking all day doing its job?" Stefan flashed his brother a smirk as he removed Scarlett's arm from his and instead wrapped an arm around her waist, pulling her to his side for a quick hug and smirking more when he saw his brother's eyes darken.

"Actually I think it's more the fact that my lovely goddaughter seems to be giving me an empathic helping hand," he said quietly so that only Scarlett and Damon would hear him. Scarlett's lips quirked in a small smile.

"Anything for my favourite uncle," she murmured in reply. Damon chose to ignore their little bonding moment, though he wished Scarlett was paying him as much attention as she was his brother.

"We are who we are, Stefan. Pretending doesn't change that."

"Nothing would make you happier than to see him give in, would it?" Scarlett asked, her voice cool as she turned to glare at Damon. "At least he's trying to be restrained, which is more than I can say for you." Damon's smirk turned dangerous as he took a step closer to Scarlett, standing just inches away from her.

"Oh I'm being more than restrained, believe me," he half growled, his graze dropping to her lips as they drew into a firm line, wishing they weren't in front of quite so many people so that he could kiss her and go relatively unnoticed. Before he could say anything more, Stefan stepped forward and gently pushed him back, ignoring Damon's genuine growl as he turned to Scarlett with a smile.

"Why don't we go find Elena before you two start trying to kill each other?" he said cheerfully as he placed his hand in the small of Scarlett's back and guided her away from his brother.

"Don't get her in trouble, young man!" Damon called after them, making Scarlett roll her eyes and huff slightly in annoyance.

"Has he always been this annoying and I've just not noticed?" she asked Stefan as they moved further into the party, her brow furrowing as she watched Stefan swipe a drink from a passing waiter and down it in one.

"Are the rose tinted glasses finally coming off?" her godfather asked teasingly, leading her over to the bar and gesturing for Scarlett to take a seat.

"What do you mean?" Stefan glanced at her with a small smile as he ordered himself a bourbon and Scarlett a lemonade.

"I'm just wondering what my brother's done to upset you. You're usually the first one to jump to his defence." Scarlett glanced down at her hands which were twisting nervously in her lap and Stefan stilled, lowering his glass to the bar. "Has Damon done something?" he asked, his voice lowering as he saw the way Scarlett was studiously ignoring him.

"Of course not," she replied with a sigh, shaking her head to confirm her words, but Stefan wasn't buying it.

"Has he hurt you?" Scarlett took a deep breath through her nose – she did not want to do this here. She could feel Stefan's worry for her beginning to seep into her mind and tried to push it away, but it was difficult. She already felt emotionally unstable. She hadn't had control of her powers since she was kidnapped and blocking other people's emotions seemed to be twice as difficult because of it.

"Only by omission," the redhead replied softly, so softly that Stefan couldn't be sure he'd heard her correctly. His brows drew together in a frown, and he was about to question her further when Scarlett looked up, her gaze meeting someone's across the room and her face instantly brightened, a small smile curving her lips. Stefan turned and felt himself smile as well when he saw Elena making her way to them across the dance floor.

"Hey," the brunette said as she reached them, giving Scarlett a quick hug as the girl stood before turning to her boyfriend.

"Hey, how are you?" Stefan asked her, wrapping an arm around her waist and pulling her in to kiss her cheek. Elena met Scarlett's gaze and raised a single, questioning eye brow, but Scarlett's only response was a slight shrug of her shoulders.

"Are you drunk?" Elena asked as she turned back to Stefan, never having seen him like this before. Stefan cleared his throat, turning to Scarlett for help but his goddaughter merely smirked and folded her arms across her stomach.

"Good question, Elena," she said. "Considering how long he's been drinking, I would absolutely say yes." Stefan gave his girlfriend a slightly nervous grin.

"Um… okay I know it's a little weird, but it's really helping me. Alcohol, it uh… takes the edge off." Elena's lips curved up as she turned to Scarlett.

"He's totally that drunk high school guy at the party sneaking booze," she said, her voice teasing. Scarlett's smirk widened as she nodded.

"He totally is," she replied before they both turned to Stefan and fixed him with equally concerned stares.

"How worried do we need to be?" Elena asked him, not having to look at Scarlett to know that the empath was just as worried about Stefan as she was.

"Oh no, you don't need to be worried," Stefan reassured them. "It's just until, um, the cravings go away." But Scarlett wasn't convinced. She couldn't help but think about what Damon had said. Vampires were vampires, and nothing could change that. They needed blood to survive – human blood – and Stefan was fighting his very nature in trying to stop himself from drinking it. She couldn't help but wonder what horrible experience he'd suffered in his past that made him so convinced he had to abstain from human blood in order to be himself. "Listen, I think we should enjoy it while it lasts," Stefan said cheerfully as Scarlett tuned back into the conversation. "Would you like to dance with me?" Scarlett raised an eyebrow in incredulity – that was new.

"You hate dancing," Elena replied, evidently as amazed as Scarlett was by this turn of events. "I usually have to beg you."

"Or bribe you," Scarlett added, reminding Stefan of his birthday party when she'd blackmailed him with cake.

"No, you have to beg and bribe the sober me, the drunk me there's no begging or bribery necessary." Elena cast a wary glance around the room.

"There's really no one dancing," she said, once again turning to Scarlett and noting the worried frown marring her sister's brow.

"That's because they need something better to dance to," Stefan said before turning and strolling over to the DJ.

"Yeah, that's not gonna work." Elena turned to face Kelly Donovan, while Scarlett's gaze remained fixed on her godfather, narrowing to a glare as she watched Stefan get the DJ's attention and saw the focus in the man's eyes. "I already tried to bribe the guy with twenty bucks and a date; he said Carol Lockwood has complete control over the music choices."

"Stefan can be pretty good at getting what he wants when he puts his mind to it," Scarlett said distractedly, turning back to Elena and nodding subtly when the girl cast her a questioning glance – Stefan had compelled the DJ in full view of an entire room of people. The two girls stood silently as they watched Kelly pull Stefan onto the dance floor and start dancing, Stefan going along with it willingly.

"Have I entered an alternate universe where Stefan is fun?" Scarlett tensed as Damon stopped at her side, his arm brushing hers.

"He's always been fun," she replied tightly, her gaze not straying from her godfather. "He's just not usually an idiot." Damon smirked at her words, even as his heart clenched painfully when he felt Scarlett shift away from him – what had he done to annoy her this time? He silently racked his memory for what he could have done to annoy the empath, but came up blank.

"Is he gonna be okay?" Elena asked as she turned to Scarlett, but it was Damon who answered.

"Eventually… one way or another." The trio stood watching Stefan for a few moments before Damon turned and leant across Scarlett so that he could talk to Elena. "Would you mind watching him for a bit? I'd like to steal Scarlett away for a while." Elena turned her gaze to Scarlett and hesitated as she saw Scarlett nervously twisting her fingers together.

"Does Scarlett want to be stolen away?" she asked softly, giving Scarlett every chance to say no.

"Not particularly," Scarlett replied tensely, her lips barely moving as she continued to stare at Stefan, anything to keep her from looking at the vampire beside her. She was forced to turn, however, when she felt a warm hand take hers in a gentle grip, stilling her fingers.

"Please?" Scarlett bit her lower lip gently and frowned at the pleading tone of Damon's voice. She knew she shouldn't be alone with him, not now. Not when her emotions were so out of order. She needed to be in control before she let Damon chip away at any more of her heart. Glancing over Damon's shoulder, Scarlett nearly sagged in relief at the sight of her saviour.

"I need to talk to Jenna about something, actually. I'll see you later." Without another word, Scarlett pulled her arm from Damon's grip and walked away, leaving the blue eyed vampire to gaze after her.

"What did you do?" Damon turned back to Elena at her words, frowning at the accusation he could hear in her voice.

"What are you talking about?" Elena narrowed her dark eyes at him before stepping closer so that she could reply without anyone hearing her.

"Scarlett is the sweetest, most caring person I've ever known but ever since you came to town she hasn't been herself. So you either figure out how to fix it, or you leave her alone." That said, Elena gave Damon one last glare before turning on her heel and crossing the room to join her sister and Jenna, leaving an extremely confused Damon to stare after her.

Damon glared at the back of Elena's head as he watched the brunette wrap an arm around Scarlett. With a huff of frustration, Damon stalked from the room – he needed a drink. Across the room, Scarlett physically sagged with relief when she felt Damon's gaze leave her. The three women stood and chatted for a while before Elena's gaze caught something over Scarlett's shoulder and she leant towards Jenna.

"History teacher, three o'clock."

"How do I look?" Jenna asked the girls.

"Beautiful," Elena replied.

"Stunning," Scarlett agreed as she turned to face Ric as he came to a halt at her side.

"Hello Scarlett," Ric said, leaning down to place a kiss on his daughter's cheek. "Sorry about yesterday."

"You're forgiven," Scarlett replied with a small smile, gently squeezing her father's hand. Ric returned the redhead's smile, before nodding at the Gilbert women.

"I've been looking for you," Ric told Jenna, his smile softening as he gazed at Jenna..

"Here I am," Jenna replied awkwardly. Scarlett and Elena glanced at each other and Elena rolled her eyes, forcing Scarlett to fake a cough to cover her laugh. "I haven't seen you in a while," Jenna continued.

"Yeah, well uh, things have been a little crazy," Ric explained with a soft chuckle, sharing a small smile with Scarlett.

"Sorry Jenna, I've been keeping Ric busy – trying to catch up on seventeen years," Scarlett said, helping Ric cover his absence. He had apologised for his words about Stefan and Damon, the least she could do was try and help him win over Jenna. She quite liked the idea of the two of them together.

"She has, but I'm here now," Ric continued, turning back to Jenna. "Do you wanna get a drink?" Jenna's smile widened and she nodded.

"Sure," she said.

"Okay." Ric offered Jenna his arm before turning to Scarlett. "Save your old man a dance?" Scarlett grinned at his words.

"Old man?" she repeated, her voice dripping with sarcasm. "I'll think about it." Ric laughed as he led Jenna away.

"You're getting on well," Elena said as she smiled at Scarlett, happy to see her sister smiling again. She couldn't help but worry about the empath. Spending so much time around Damon, being in love with him but not knowing if he felt the same, it was taking its toll on Scarlett and Elena could see it.

"Yeah, we are," Scarlett replied with a small smile.

"When did this happen?" Scarlett jumped slightly at the sound of Matt's voice as he appeared beside her, his gaze taking in the couples dancing around them.

"The DJ had a… change of heart," Elena said vaguely as she met Scarlett's gaze.

"Either of you ladies wanna dance?" Scarlett smiled and shook her head.

"I'm not really in a dancing mood," she replied. "But Elena, you should go and dance."

"I can't leave you here alone," Elena argued, even as Matt dragged her onto the dance floor. Scarlett's smile widened as she watched her friends dancing, both of them pulling goofy faces in her direction as she stood at the side of the room and sipped her lemonade. Moving around the dance floor, she watched as Stefan made his way to Elena and stole her away from Matt for a dance, her smile widening at the obvious joy on her sister's face.

Scarlett turned to leave when she felt a shift in the room, and she spun back to meet Elena's now startled gaze. With a frown, Scarlett made her way through the crowd towards the brunette, her eyes searching for Stefan. When she caught sight of her godfather, Scarlett tensed in shock, her eyes widening as she watched him compel a man to apologise to Elena right in the middle of the room. Snapping into action, she hurried the last few feet to Stefan's side and quickly grabbed his wrist, forcing herself to be calm as she let her own serenity filter through to Stefan.

"Stefan, that's enough," she said quietly, feeling him resisting her powers and trying to push them away.

"He has to apologise to Elena," Stefan said, his voice low and deadly and for the first time in her life, Scarlett was genuinely afraid of her godfather.

"No, he doesn't," she said firmly, tugging on his arm to pull him away. Eventually, Stefan let go of the man, shoving him slightly, and the man immediately turned and left. Stefan glanced quickly at his goddaughter before turning back to Elena, reaching out to cup her cheek.

"Are you alright?" he asked, frowning as he saw the barely masked fear in Elena's dark eyes.

"Don't you think we should be asking you that question?" Scarlett asked softly, her brows drawn together in a concerned frown. Stefan turned to his goddaughter, a frown marring his own brow at her words before turning to walk from the room, leaving Scarlett and Elena standing in the middle of the dance floor.

Damon leant on the bar, nursing a glass of bourbon as he stared down at the polished wood and let his mind wander. As was usual these days, his thoughts drifted to Scarlett and his dark brows drew together as he thought about how strangely shed been acting around him. He needed to talk to her, to find out exactly what she was feeling. He'd thought they were doing well at dinner last night, but today she'd been… Strange to say the least. He knew he shouldn't care. He was in Mystic Falls for one reason, and one reason only. But whenever he thought of Scarlett, or talked to her, or even saw her dark blue eyes, that reason seemed to become less and less important.

Scarlett was fast becoming his reason for staying in Mystic Falls, but something was wrong. All he could think was that he'd done something to annoy or hurt her, and the last thing he wanted to do was cause Scarlett pain. Come to think of it, ever since he'd returned to Mystic Falls, the one person he'd never wanted to hurt was her. He'd often wondered why that was. Why, out of all the people in this town, did he care about how Scarlett felt?

Before he could pursue that train of thought, a familiar scent caught his attention and he smirked as a flash of red hair appeared in the corner of his eye.

"Have you noticed what your brother's been up to?" Scarlett asked him, smiling quickly at the bar tender as he placed a glass of lemonade in front of her. Damon smirked as he turned to face the empath, leaning casually against the bar.

"Given up avoiding me, have you?" he asked sarcastically. Scarlett's eyes narrowed and she turned to walk away, but Damon caught hold of her arm to keep her at his side. "Fine, ignore that question. In answer to yours, I knew you could handle him. Besides, I've been too preoccupied with Elena's brother." Scarlett turned back to Damon and frowned before lifting her glass and taking a small sip of refreshing lemonade as he gazed down at her.

"Jeremy's been asking questions about Vicki Donovan's death," the vampire explained seriously, making Scarlett's frown turn quizzical.

"I thought he believed the overdose story?" she asked hesitantly as she pulled her arm from Damon's grasp, feeling a pit form in her stomach when Damon shook his head.

"'Oh, but sheriff… someone buried her. Who would do that?'" Damon murmured as he attempted to imitate the youngest Gilbert, ignoring the strange feeling of loss not touching Scarlett gave him. "I kno w, I know – me! And, kind of, technically, you." Scarlett tensed, glancing around, but no one was near enough to hear their whispered conversation. "I mean, I could compel him again, but he's wearing vervain."

"No, we're not doing that again," Scarlett said firmly. After having time to think about it, she was convinced that hiding the truth from Jeremy may not have been the best idea. Plus, she had a feeling Elena wouldn't be happy with the idea of compelling her brother again.

"And if he keeps asking questions?" Damon asked, his brows lowering in a frown as he watched Scarlett pull her phone from her clutch and type a quick message. "You're texting? Now?"

"Elena needs to know about this – we need to figure something out." She held up a hand as Damon opened his mouth to argue. "Something that doesn't involve compulsion." Damon waited until Scarlett put away her phone and returned her gaze to his, searching her eyes to try and figure out why she was so set against him compelling Jeremy again. But he couldn't read her; her thoughts were a mystery. Just like her.

"Okay, we'll do it your way," he finally replied, turning to a nearby vase and plucking the darkest red rose he could find. Turning back to Scarlett, he held it out to her, his lips curving as he saw her confusion. "I know it's not your favourite, but it was short notice." Scarlett hesitantly reached out and took the rose from his hands, lifting it to her nose and inhaling the rich, sweet scent. Damon smiled as he stood, offering Scarlett his arm. "Fancy a walk?"

"I don't think that's a good idea, Damon," Scarlett murmured, not meeting his gaze. Damon frowned at her words – what was wrong?

"Please, Scarlett. I just want to talk." He gazed at her, his light blue eyes pleading as he held out a hand, willing her to trust him. Scarlett's eyes dropped to his hand as she felt her stomach churn with nerves. After her realisation that she was head over heels in love with him, she didn't really trust herself to be alone with Damon. Especially as she had no idea what he felt about her. But she could feel his sincerity reaching out to her; his need for her to trust him and she realised that she couldn't say no to him.

"Alright," the redhead replied nervously. "I could use some fresh air." Damon tried not to let his satisfaction show on his face as Scarlett slipped her hand into his. Lacing his fingers with hers, Damon led her from the room, climbing the stairs and tugging her gently towards some doors. They ended up on a balcony at the back of the house, overlooking the lake and Scarlett smiled as she left Damon's side, tilting her head back so that she could gaze up at the stars. Damon, however, found his gaze transfixed more by the girl before him. He moved to her side, and the two stood in silence for a few moments, listening to the faint sounds of the party below. Eventually, Damon turned to Scarlett, his brows drawing together in concentration.

"So, are you going to tell me what I've done wrong this time?" he asked, his tone light, trying to seem unconcerned by Scarlett's answer. The redhead wrapped her arms around herself, rubbing her arms in the slight breeze and refusing to look at the vampire beside her.

"What do you mean?" she asked softly.

"Well," Damon began as he slipped his jacket off and slid it around Scarlett's shoulders. "Last night at dinner we were getting on fine – at least, I thought so. But tonight you've been… off." Scarlett's lips twitched in a small smile as she gratefully tugged Damon's jacket tighter around herself, trying not to inhale the sharp, clean scent of his cologne.

"Off?" she asked. Damon ran a hand through his dark hair. He wasn't explaining this properly.

"Not yourself is probably a better description." Scarlett was silent beside him, staring down at the railing rather than looking at him. Damon needed to change that. Reaching out, he gently touched her arm and she raised her dark blue gaze to his. "We're friends, aren't we Scar?" She hesitated before answering, and Damon could have sworn his heart paused in its beating as he waited for her reply.

"Yes, we're friends," she finally said softly, and Damon's heart resumed beating.

"And you'd tell me if I'd done something wrong?" Scarlett's lips twitched again, one corner lifting in a smile.

"Don't I always?" Damon smirked at her reply – that was his Scarlett. He opened his mouth to ask again if he'd done something to upset her when the sound of the door opening caught his attention and he glanced over her shoulder.

"Scarlett Williams. I hoped I'd see you tonight. Damon's smirk dropped from his face as Scarlett tensed beside him before turning to face their intruder. Forcing a smile to his lips, Damon stepped to Scarlett's side as John Gilbert approached them.

"Hello John," Scarlett said, forcing a pleased smile to her face. John smiled in reply before turning to the man at her side.

"And you're Damon, right?" Damon nodded his head in agreement. "We didn't get a chance to meet at the council meeting."

"It's a pleasure," Damon replied. He glanced down at Scarlett when he felt her shift, and placed a hand on the small of her back, noting that for once she didn't tense at his touch. "Are you enjoying the kick off?" John nodded as his smile widened, though Damon noticed it didn't quite reach his eyes.

"Oh yeah, I forgot how much fun these small town celebrations can be."

"Well, we try our best," Scarlett murmured sarcastically, making Damon's lips quirk.

"I was surprised when I didn't see you at the council, Scarlett. Being the last surviving Williams family member." John's voice didn't hold a trace of sympathy as he glanced at the redhead. Scarlett fought to keep the smile on her face and inched a fraction closer to Damon, secretly amazed at how calm she felt with him beside her.

"I'm not eighteen yet, John. You know the rules."

"Of course," John nodded in agreement. "It's a shame. Your mother always had such… interesting views. I'm sure the council would benefit from involving Tara Williams' daughter."

"So, when's the last time you were here?" Damon asked quickly as he tried to draw John's attention away from Scarlett. He didn't like the way the man was looking at her – he was too curious.

"Oh, it hasn't been that long – my brother's funeral."

"After which you disappeared," Scarlett interjected, her blue eyes narrowing at Elena's uncle. There was a tense pause before John turned once more to Damon.

"How long have you been in town?"

"Oh, not long at all," Damon replied.

"Long enough to get to know Scarlett pretty well, apparently," John said, shooting a smirk at the redhead. Scarlett raised an eyebrow in question as she felt Damon's hand clench at her back.

"Can we help you with something, John?" Scarlett asked frostily. She had never been fond of Elena's uncle, and she didn't trust the way he was staring at her and Damon. It was as if he knew…

"I have to admit, I'd like to know what you both think," John said as he smiled at the two of them.

"About?"

"You both know this vampire problem is real, right?" Scarlett opened her mouth to protest her ignorance, but stopped at the look John shot her. "You don't expect me to believe your mother kept you in the dark all these years, do you Scarlett? It's a potential bloodbath."

"I wouldn't overreact, John," Damon said calmly, his hand unclenching and slipping further around Scarlett's waist to rest on her hip, pulling her closer to his side.

"Well I think it's like eighteen sixty-four all over again." Scarlett felt her heart skip a beat at John's words, even as Damon's fingers dug into her hip. "Vampires running amok. I guess we're just gonna have to hunt them down, throw them in a church and burn them to ash."

"That is the story," Damon replied, his smirk morphing into a glare.

"Seems a little extreme, if you ask me," Scarlett said quietly as she placed her hand over Damon's on her waist, willing him to be calm.

"You think that's extreme? That's not even the whole story."

"Oh, there's more?" Damon could feel Scarlett's powers seeping into him and had never been more thankful for her presence. He had a feeling that if Scarlett hadn't been there, he'd have ripped John's throat out by now.

"Oh there's a lot more," John said, stepping closer to the pair as he folded his arms across his chest. "You see it seems that there was a tomb under the church, and the vampires were hidden away, waiting for someone to come along and set them free." Scarlett let her hand fall away from Damon's as he took a step forward, placing himself between her and John. She watched nervously as Elena's uncle smirked at Damon. "But then you already knew that, didn't you? Being that you're the one that did it. Well, you and Scarlett, of course." John's gaze met Scarlett's over Damon's shoulder and the redhead stared defiantly back at him.

"And you're telling me this, why?" Damon asked, his voice low and dangerous, his jaw tense. He didn't like how John kept bringing up Scarlett. He didn't like the people he cared about being threatened. And he did care about Scarlett – he could admit that much, at least.

"I just thought we'd get the introductions out of the way."

"Well, you know that I could rip your throat out before anyone would notice, right?"

"Not that he will," Scarlett said quickly, stepping up to Damon's side and linking her arm with his. She knew in the grand scheme of things that if Damon decided to kill John, she wouldn't be able to stop him, but the man was Elena's uncle – he was family, and she had to try and diffuse the tension, even if she didn't like him.

"He probably ingests vervain," Damon said casually as he leant closer to Scarlett, folding his hand over hers where it rested on his arm.

"Why don't you take a bite? Find out," John said, his smirk taunting, daring Damon to do just that.

"Did you come back to town with a death wish?" Scarlett hissed. She had tried very hard to keep her temper in check, but after her encounter with the tomb vampires she'd been finding it extremely difficult to control not only her powers, but her emotions as well, and John Gilbert wasn't helping matters.

"Come on Scar, he's not worth our time." Damon pulled his arm from Scarlett's grasp and curled it around her waist, leading her back towards the door into the house. He paused a step away from the door, turning to gaze down at her. Scarlett raised her face to Damon, her brows lowering in a questioning frown. She looked so innocent to him, and Damon felt his heart clench painfully in his chest at the thought of anything happening to her. He looked back over his shoulder to where John stood, the same taunting smile on his face, and knew what he had to do. Damon looked back at Scarlett, his pale blue eyes meeting hers and gently cupped her face in his hands. "Give me a minute?" he asked softly. Scarlett's eyes widened as she stared up at him.

"Damon, don't do anything stupid." Damon's lips quirked humourlessly as he pressed a soft kiss to Scarlett's forehead.

"I'll meet you inside." Scarlett cast a quick glance over Damon's shoulder as she slipped off his jacket and handed it back to him, before nodding and heading inside. She had noticed that he hadn't promised not to do anything stupid, but she could hope… A wave of dizziness overtook Scarlett and she stumbled against the wall, holding onto it until her head cleared. Something was wrong… She turned to glance over her shoulder, but no one was there. Damon must still be talking to John. Shaking her head to clear it, Scarlett quickly made her way downstairs towards the party. Her dark eyes roamed the room, looking for a familiar face. Stefan was by the bar, still drinking… Elena and Matt seemed to be heading outside…

"Looking for someone?" Scarlett turned at the familiar voice and smiled.

"Not anymore." Ric's answering smile was warm as he held his arm out to his daughter. Scarlett slipped her arm through his and they walked slowly through the room.

"Good evening?" Ric asked as he glanced down at Scarlett, watching her glance over her shoulder at the stairs as if she were still looking for someone. Scarlett's smile turned wry.

"It's definitely been interesting… How's Jenna?" Ric felt his cheeks warm at her question. "If it helps, she likes you as much as you like her." Shaking his head, Ric felt his smile widen at Scarlett's words.

"I'm not entirely sure this is an appropriate conversation for us to be having," he murmured. Scarlett met his gaze with a smile of her own.

"I'm just trying to help." Ric was about to reply when Scarlett turned abruptly, her whole body tense. "Tyler?" Without another word, Scarlett hurried towards the patio doors, Ric on her heels. She stumbled as she reached them and Ric quickly grabbed her arm to prevent her from falling.

"Scarlett, what's wrong?" he asked, his voice laced with concern.

"Stop him," she gasped, pushing on the door to open it. Once they were outside, Ric immediately saw the problem - Tyler Lockwood was beating Matt Donovan to a bloody pulp on the patio. Hurrying forward, he grabbed Tyler and pulled him off the other boy, shoving him against a wall when he tried to resist. Scarlett moved to his side, reaching out to touch Tyler's arm.

"Tyler, calm down," she said quietly. She could feel the rage emanating from him – rage that was so strong, so unlike the Tyler she knew. She couldn't explain it. Even with her powers she was finding it difficult to calm him down.

"What was that?" Ric asked softly. Scarlett shook her head slightly, meeting Tyler's worried brown eyes, when a hand touched her shoulder. Turning, she met Mayor Lockwood's stern gaze.

"I'll take it from here," he said firmly. Ric backed off, letting Tyler go and pulling Scarlett away. The Mayor turned to his son. "It's alright, it's okay. You hurt?" Tyler glanced at Scarlett before shaking his head in answer to his father's question. "Go get cleaned up." Tyler slowly went back inside, unable to look back at Matt where he sat with Elena. "Thank you both for your help," the Mayor said to Ric and Scarlett, gifting the latter with a warm smile.

"Let's go inside," Ric said softly.

"But Matt–" Scarlett began, but Ric shook his head.

"Elena can handle him – you look exhausted as it is." Scarlett hadn't realised how tired she was until Ric's words. Now, she could feel the exhaustion creeping up on her. With a last glance at Elena and Matt, Scarlett nodded and allowed her father to lead her back inside. Ric led her straight over to the bar and gently pushed her until she was sat on a stool. "Hey, can I get a Coke?" he asked the bartender. He looked again at Scarlett's pale face as they waited for the drink. "Caffeine should help for now." Scarlett smiled slightly at his words.

"Can you see Stefan or Damon?" she asked as the bartender placed the glass before her. Ric quickly glanced around the room.

"No, they're not in here." Scarlett took a couple of large gulps of her drink before nodding. "I think it's nearly time for the Mayor's speech – you feeling a bit better?"

"I'll be fine," Scarlett said as she stood, smoothing the skirt of her dress down. "They're probably already waiting for the speech. Linking her arm with Ric's, the two of them followed the rest of the crowd into the main entrance, standing towards the back of the room. The room was already crowded with townspeople who began applauding as Mayor Lockwood entered the room, a broad smile on his face.

"Thank you all; thank you very much," the Mayor began, and the crowd slowly stopped applauding to let him speak. "Thank you all for joining us tonight. In just a few moments we will officially begin the countdown to our coming Founders Day Celebration, and it's a very special one this year. The one hundred and fiftieth birthday of our town." Another round of applause began as a large, ornate bell was wheeled in. "And I would like to welcome back one of our town's favourite sons to do the honours of ringing our town's official charter bell. John Gilbert, would you please join me up here?" Scarlett watched John move to the front of the room, strangely relieved that the man was still alive.

"One hundred and fifty years of community; prosperity; family," John said, his voice raising to reach everyone in the room. "We look after each other – protect each other." His gaze was fixed on the back of the room and when Scarlett turned to see what had caught his attention, she found Damon glaring back at the man. "It's good to be home." Once again the crowd broke into applause. Damon turned to meet Scarlett's gaze and swiftly moved to her side, his hand slipping into hers.

"Look at his right hand," Damon said just loud enough for Scarlett and Ric to hear him.

"Whose?" Ric asked.

"Town's favourite son – look at his ring." Scarlett watched as John wrapped his hands around the bell pull and tugged, her gaze narrowing on the ornate ring on the ring finger of his right hand… A ring she recognised.

"Well; looks like mine," Ric said, his voice bland, but Scarlett could sense his worry and confusion.

"Yeah, and that would be a big coincidence if he didn't just come back from the dead five minutes ago." Scarlett turned sharply at Damon's hissed words, her blue eyes narrowed.

"I told you not to do anything stupid," she nearly growled. Damon's eyes met hers, blazing with an emotion she didn't quite recognise.

"He practically threatened you," he replied, his hand squeezing tightly around hers as he turned back to Ric. "Where the hell did you get that ring?"

"Isobel, my wife," Ric told him. Damon chuckled darkly while Scarlett turned her frown to John as he shook hands with various members of the town.

"Who gave birth to Elena under the medical care of the esteemed Doctor Grayson Gilbert – John's brother," Damon explained.

"Why does it keep coming back to her?" Scarlett whispered.

"Wait, you think John knew Isobel?" Ric asked disbelievingly.

"I think John knows a lot of things," Damon replied as he took a sip of his drink, once again squeezing Scarlett's hand.

"So, what do we do?" Scarlett asked, turning her back on the crowd as it began to disperse, the party having come to its end.

"You will go and sit in the car and wait for me," Damon said firmly as he began to pull her from the room. Scarlett planted her feet, tugging her hand from Damon's grip.

"I will not," she replied. "Not until I know what you're going to do and if I need to be there to calm you down." Damon turned back to Scarlett and moved until he was standing barely a foot from her, glaring down into her dark blue eyes.

"We," he began, gesturing between himself and Ric who was standing just to Scarlett's side, "are going to have a little chat with John Gilbert. Nothing to worry about." Scarlett folded her arms across her chest and took a deep breath to calm her temper.

"If you're just going to talk to him, there's no need for me to wait in the car," she hissed, matching Damon's glare with one of her own. Damon gritted his teeth at her stubbornness, trying his hardest to keep his gaze on her face and not lower it to her cleavage which was perfectly displayed by the cut of her dress and her folded arms. The vampire and the empath glared at each other for a few moments before Ric cleared his throat beside them.

"Are we going to stand here or go and talk to John?" he asked, trying to ignore the obvious chemistry between his daughter and Damon. With a soft growl, Damon took a step back, his gaze not leaving Scarlett's.

"You stay beside me," he said, causing Scarlett to roll her eyes.

"John's not going to attack us in public, Damon," she replied. She glanced over Damon's shoulder to see the man in question heading for the front door. "Come on, we'll miss him." Dodging past him, Scarlett hurried after John, knowing that Damon and Ric would follow her. They reached the porch just behind John and Damon outpaced her, walking a couple of steps ahead of her.

"Going somewhere?" he asked John as the four of them walked briskly away from the party.

"Never liked to be the last one to leave a party," John replied, not breaking stride. There weren't many people outside yet, which Scarlett could only think was a good thing. She could feel Damon's desire to kill John again and quickly reached out with her mind to try and calm him. "It's too desperate. You here to kill me again, or are you gonna let Mr Saltzman do your dirty work? And in front of Scarlett this time?"

"Okay, you obviously know who I am," Ric said as the group came to a stop. Scarlett turned to look at John and frowned when she saw the unworried smirk on his face.

"I do," John agreed, meeting Ric's gaze. "Alaric Saltzman; the high school teacher with a secret." He turned to meet Scarlett's gaze, his smirk widening. "More than one secret, as it happens."

"You sure know a lot for someone who just got to town," Damon said, drawing John's attention from Scarlett. He didn't like the way the man was looking at her, or how he seemed to keep threatening her.

"More than you can imagine, Damon." John took a few steps away from them before turning to face them again, his smirk still firmly in place. "My knowledge of this town goes beyond anything that any one of you or the Council knows," he said, meeting each of their gazes. "So, if you were planning on some clever, high speed snatch-ring-vamp-kill move," Damon and Ric shifted uncomfortably at his words, "know that if I die, everything I know goes to the Council. Including the fascinating little tale of the original Salvatore brothers and their present day return to Mystic Falls." Scarlett could feel her heart beating wildly in her chest at John's words, but when his gaze returned to her once more, she could have sworn it stopped altogether. "I might even throw in some information about the William's family and their history of empathy… Although, it'd probably go down better if I said you were psychic, don't you think Scarlett?" Scarlett felt a shiver go down her spine at John's words, and only her hand clutching tightly to Damon's stopped him from lunging for the man before them.

"How'd you get that ring?" Ric asked. He couldn't concentrate on John's threat to Scarlett. If he did that, then he'd probably beat the son-of-a-bitch to a pulp and he still needed answers. Punching John Gilbert would have to wait for another time.

"I inherited one," John replied as he turned his gaze from Scarlett to fix his pale gaze on Ric. "My brother Gray the other." He held up his hand to show them the ring. "This was his… And I wouldn't have given mine to Isobel had I known she'd hand it over to another guy."

"So you knew Isobel," Scarlett said, feeling Damon's hand tighten around hers as she spoke. John smirked as he nodded.

"And who do you think sent her to Damon when she wanted to become a vampire?" he asked.

"You sent her?" Damon replied, answering John's question with one of his own – not that he needed an answer.

"Guilty! Why, do you think someone else sent her?" John asked. Scarlett's brow lowered in confusion and she looked up at Damon as he shrugged his shoulders. "Maybe Katherine Pierce?" Scarlett's blood ran cold at John's words. She could feel Damon's emotions churning at the mention of Katherine's name, and felt her own heart break at the flare of hope that reached out to her.

"How do you know about Katherine?" Damon asked, barely noticing Scarlett slip her hand from his as he focused on John.

"How do I know anything, Damon?" John returned. Damon stepped forward, his eyes narrowed in a glare.

"What do you want?" John didn't move; he simply stood there and smirked back at the vampire before him.

"So many questions. It was a pleasure meeting you, Ric," he said, turning his gaze from Damon to the history teacher. "I've heard so much about you." He turned to Scarlett, his smirk widening as he saw the blank look on her face. "No doubt I'll see you soon, Scarlett." That said, he turned on his heel and strolled towards his car, leaving Damon, Scarlett and Ric to stare after him.

They stood in silence for a few moments, the sounds of people leaving the party surrounding them. Eventually, Damon turned to face Scarlett, his brows lowering in a frown as he took in her pale cheeks and the lack of expression on her face. Taking a step forward, he gently reached up to touch her cheek. Scarlett flinched away from his touch as if burned and Damon slowly lowered his hand, trying to ignore the pain in his chest at her reaction.

"So, what do we do now?" Ric asked, echoing Scarlett's words of earlier that evening. He'd seen his daughter's reaction to Damon, but now didn't seem like the best time to comment on it.

"We wait," Damon said softly, his gaze not leaving Scarlett. "We go home and we wait to figure out what to do until tomorrow." Without a word, Scarlett turned to Ric and leant up to kiss his cheek before walking away. Ric watched Scarlett's retreating form before turning to Damon who gave him a tense smile

"I'll be in touch," the vampire said.

"Look after her," Ric said in reply. Damon nodded as he followed Scarlett towards the car park, wondering what was wrong with her. Was she upset about what John had said? When he reached his car, Scarlett was leaning against it, her arms wrapped around her middle as she stared into the distance.

"You ready?" Damon asked. Scarlett jolted slightly at the sound of his voice and turned to face him, her eyes shining in the moonlight – shining with tears. Frowning, Damon moved to stand in front of her, cupping her face in his hands. "Scar, what's wrong? What happened?" Scarlett shook her head, lifting her hands to wrap around his wrists and pull them away from her face.

"Nothing, it's just the wind." She turned swiftly and opened the door, slipping into the passenger seat before Damon could move to help her. Damon let out a small sigh. Something had changed since their talk on the balcony, but he didn't know what. Walking to the driver side of the car, he climbed in and slammed the door behind him, trying to get a reaction from Scarlett. All she did was turn her body so that it was as far away from him as the inside of his car would allow.

The drive back to the Boarding House was silent save for the rumble of the engine, and when Damon pulled up outside he had barely cut the engine before Scarlett jumped out of the car and jogged inside. She didn't turn back when he called her name. She didn't stop until she had reached her bedroom and locked the door behind her.

Katherine. It was always and would always be Katherine. How could she have forgotten that? How could she have so foolishly forgotten Damon's feelings for his first love, or that he'd sworn to find her again. It didn't matter that sometimes he was kind to her and sometimes he cooked her dinner. It didn't matter that she was in love with him, because he would never be in love with her.

She walked towards her bed, stepping out of her shoes as she went. Pulling back the duvet, she crawled into her bed and pulled it back over her head, praying that it would muffle the sound as she cried herself to sleep.

So, there we go. Next chapter is on its way - I can't say when, but I promise you won't have to wait another year for it! I look forward to receiving your (hopefully nice) comments and reviews.

Much love xx