I was half laying, half sitting on the couch with my favourite cardigan draped over my very naked body. The dress was definitely too short for mid winter.

Stefan was still getting ready and I had taken out a Jane Austen book from the shelf (first edition, mind you) so I wouldn't get bored. I was a bit confused when I saw Damon coming out of my room. I hadn't noticed him coming in the apartment at all.

"How do I look?"

"Take off the jacket," I said without looking up.

"Excuse me?"

"You look stupid," I shrugged.

"What?!"

"It's not that you look bad in a suit," I quickly said.

"Which we know is not possible," He threw in. I glared at him.

"You just look better in a nice button up shirt," I explained.

"If you want me to take off my clothes, all you have to do is ask," He smirked.

I kept my focus on my book and ignored his cocky comment. I had to fight the urge to smirk when he started to look irritated.

"So without the jacket?" He asked.

"Without the jacket," I confirmed.

"But it's cold,"

"Then wear it. Jesus, am I your mother or why are you asking me all this?"

"Better watch that smart mouth of yours."

I cocked an eyebrow at him before returning back to my extremely interesting lecture. Not. I didn't even like Jane Austen.

"Where's my baby brother?"

"How should I know?" I asked annoyedly.

"Don't know, aren't you his roommate?"

"Why don't you just call him?,"

"Oh, Stefan!" He whistled. "We have a lair to check out!"

Stefan walked out of his room. As soon as he saw Damon, his epxression darkened. "You're here again,"

"Come on, can't we stop fighting for once?" He groaned.

"You promised me an eternity of misery, remember? Don't give up now,"

"How about," I chimed in. "We stop with the brotherly tension for tonight?"

"It's not something you can just switch off," Stefan argued.

"You mean it's not like feelings?" I raised an eyebrow. "No bad looks and no snarky comments directed towards each other, okay?"

"So we can be snarky towards you?" Damon asked.

"Nothing I haven't dealt with before." I gave him a meaningful look.

"Okay," Stefan cut in. "No comments, no bad looks, no fights."

I looked at Damon expectantly.

He groaned. "Fine. If you stop treating us like three year olds,"

"When you stop acting like one, I will."

Stefan cleared his throat. "We should go through the plan again,"

"Go on," I sighed.

"We arrive there all together, chat up a few people so they think we're all there. You two leave without anyone noticing. Damon has the adress, he'll get you there safely. You check out their home and only check out. No fights, no killing." He shot a warning look towards Damon.

"Don't be like that!" He snapped.

"Guys," I said. "Not tonight, remember?"

"Sorry," Stefan apologised. "So, after you checked out the house and got a clear picture of the situation, you two return to the party. We all leave together and talk about what you found out here at home,"

"Quick question," I said. "If only bloodbanks are allowed, won't it be suspicious if I look totally unharmed? Without bite marks and all?"

"We'll tell them that we healed you using our blood," Stefan said.

"But that will be the most obvious lie which they'll see right through. I bet that not many vampires bother to give their blood suppliers their own blood unless they have something to hide. I also bet that nobody has anything to hide when in company of their kind,"

"She's not wrong," Damon said with a glance at me. "Too smart for her own good...."

"If you want one of us to bite you, then you're stupid. It's not going to happen," Stefan said with an expression as hard as stone.

"Stefan, she's right. This plan has to be fool proof if we want to make it,"

"Well, I'm not going to bite her." Stefan turned around and walked a few steps.

"No, but I will," Damon said and took a step towards me.

"No! I'd rather do it myself," Stefan quickly said and walked back towards me who was still comfortably on the couch.

"I wouldn't let you bite her, even if it could save all of us. You know what blood does to you,"

"What does it do to him?" I asked curiously.

"It makes him a ripper," He replied in an even voice. "A vampire doesn't have to kill his victims but Stefan can't control himself. He'd suck you dry,"

I just looked at him. Stefan? A ripper? I mean, I knew blood was extremely tempting to him but still...

"But you can?" I asked. "Control yourself?"

"Yes," He said confidently.

"So how many bite marks do I need to seem authentic?" I asked and shifted slightly. The cardigan moved a bit and revealed my naked collar bone. Both of the Salvatores seemed quite interested and I rolled my eyes at them. "How many?"

"At least one. Better would be two, one on the wrist and one on the neck,"

"One'll have to do," Stefan said sternly.

"On the neck?"

I shrugged.

"You guys go on...I'm just gonna go pick up some things," Stefan said and walked into his room.

Damon rolled his eyes at his brother before walking to stand right in front of the couch. As I slowly pushed myself up, my cardigan fell off and I stood there in my red dress.

His eyes were trailing up and down my body and he swallowed heavily. I could have sworn that I saw his eyes turn a bit translucent.

He placed his hands on my shoulders and I could feel my heartbeat racing.

Damn it, he wasn't supposed to make me feel like this. Especially not after all this time.

His fingers brushed back a strand off my hair and tucked it safely behind my ear. When his warm hands suddenly rested on my neck, for some reason I took a step to the side and away from him. He turned to me.

"Do you trust me?" He asked softly, his eyes never leaving mine.

I swallowed and stepped closer to him again. At least now I didn't have the couch in my back and would be able to....yeah, what? He was a vampire. For this, I had to trust him. Completely.

I inhaled deeply and looked at him. He cupped the back of my neck and pulled me closer to him as if he wanted to kiss me.

For a second I thought he would, but then his mouth lowered over my neck and I felt great pain coming from where his teeth tore through my skin. My whole body tensed and as if to hold on to consciousness I wrapped my arms around his neck. I couldn't help but feel like this was something so intimate. 

The whole feeling was somewhat surreal, a huge amount of pain mixed with pleasure.

He stopped quickly but his mouth remained calmly on my skin. I leaned my head against his shoulder while I tried to normalise my breathing.

"Did it hurt a lot?" He asked, his voice husky. I pulled away and took in his appearance. His lips were red from my blood and a drop ran down from the corner of his mouth.

"Yeah. But it wasn't bad."

He nodded.

"You better get that cleaned up," I said with a glance at his lips.

"Why, will any of the vampires mind?"

"What if we get pulled over by the police?"

"If it bothers you so much, why don't you clean it yourself?" He asked, his expression serious. 

"I don't have a handkerchief or anything like that."

His hand dug into his pockets and he pulled out one.

"Always prepared," I smirked and grabbed the handkerchief. I raised my hand and dabbed at his mouth gently. I kept my gaze on his lips even as I felt his piercing eyes on me.

"Here, done," I said but it came out as more of a whisper.

"Thank you," He said softly.

I looked down before clearing my throat and taking a step back. "Thank you...I guess,"

"No, thank you," He said and there was his smirk again. "You're delicious,"

And there he was again. Oh yay. "Let's just go, okay?"

"Yes." Stefan walked back in. "Whose car are we taking?"

"Not yours," Damon said disgustedly. "You bought a landrover. And it's ugly,"

"We'll take yours then." He smiled his fakest smile.

/ / / / /

"Right, so remember what we said, okay? Try not to act suspicious," Stefan reminded us as we stood in front of where Lexi's party would take place.

"We know," Damon groaned and walked up to the brawny bouncer in a grey suit.

"Authentification," He grumbled.

Without hesitation, Damon bared his teeth and his fangs became visible. The veins around his eyes became black and the part that was usually white turned into a dark blood red.

Not to be weird, but he looked hot as fuck.

The bouncer nodded stiffly and opened the door for us. I walked in, flanked by the Salvatore brothers.  Some Queen song was playing loudly and lots of people in expensive clothes were grinding on each other.

"For this being such an exclusive party it's just as trashy as any college one," I muttered.

Few people looked at us when we entered but those who did couldn't seem to take their eyes off us.

"Let's get a drink," I said in a normal voice. Their super hearing came in handy here.

"Just what I was about to say!" Damon said and snapped his fingers to get the attention of a waiter who was passing by. Sadly the guy only had champagne. I didn't mind much and downed one glass in the blink of an eye.

"I'm gonna get something a bit stronger," Damon said.

"Get me whatever you're taking," I yelled after him before turning to Stefan. "Dance with me?"

"Perse..."

"We can't act suspicious, remember?" I smirked mischevously. He sighed and I grabbed his hand, pulling him into the crowd.

He twirled me around and there was a few times I almost fell but all in all it was pretty successful.

Stefan immediately leaned against the wall in dramatically. "If you make me dance one more song, I'll die!"

"You're already dead," I smirked. "But it's okay, I'll just go look for Damon. You should go and hit up some sexy vampire chick. I could imagine vampire sex being pretty intense."

Before he could reply I had disappeared into the crowd to look for my drink. I just had to find the bar to also find Damon. He was talking to some redheaded chick (human, telling from the bite marks all over her). He had one glass in his hand, another stood next to him.

"That mine?" I asked.

"I was gonna drink it. Didn't seem like you were coming,"

"Stefan and I were dancing." I smiled at the memory.

"I could see that very well," He replied before he handed me the drink. I took a sip.

"Looking for another snack?" I asked with a glance at the girl.

"You satisfied my needs very well, thank you," He smirked.

"Well, if you're done, come and find me. I'll save you a dance."

I turned around to fuse with the crowd once again. It was one massive bunch of hot, moving bodies. People who probably didn't know each other were getting pretty intimate.

I got busy jumping around, got a few drinks, returned to the dance floor, until the song changed to Joan Jett's I love Rock 'n Roll and suddenly he was there. He had unbuttoned his shirt a bit and was once again smirking at me in all his glory.

"You said you'd save me a dance," He said.

"Well, Mr Salvatore, today is your lucky day," I grinned.

/ / / / /

"I'm so exhausted," I said and drunk from my glass.

"I could go much longer," He smirked.

"Do you have to turn everything I say into something dirty?!" I exclaimed.

"Don't act like you don't like it,"

"Damon...." Before I could finish what I was about to say he had leaned in and his hot mouth was on my ear.

"We're going to leave and we'll act like we're hooking up," He instructed in a whisper. "Go with whatever I do."

I giggled like he'd just said something entirely different and covered my mouth like I was a bit ashamed. He bit his lip while he let his eyes trail over every inch of my body.

I stepped closer confidently and placed my hand on his biceps. "How about." I glanced at his lips and bashed my lashes while leaning in. "We go somewhere a bit more private?"

He smirked and took my hand to pull me through the door into the cold.

"Great acting," Damon smirked. I giggled for real this time.

"Same goes for you. Never knew you had it in you,"

"I didn't have to act much."

I looked at him. "Okay, Damon. Okay,"

"When you do something a lot it becomes a part of your personality at some point,"

"You sneak off with young and innocent girls often?" There was already goosbumps forming on my skin from the cold.

"Only Mondays to Sundays,"

"Can we go now?" I asked while rubbing my skin to make the cold go away. He went to his car and so not gentleman like left me to open the door on my own. 

I didn't mind, though. It was warm inside and once he got the heater running it was actually cozy.

"So how did you find their adress?"

"I have my sources,"

"From this ominous answer I can only assume that you are going to drag me into a dark alley and suck my blood out of my body,"

He glanced at me with a smirk tugging at the corner of his lips. "Am I that untrustworthy?"

"Just Mondays till Sundays,"

"And there's smart-mouth-Perse again,"

"Oh, we're calling each other names now? How mature," I scoffed.

"Get out. We're walking the rest or they'll hear us come,"

"I thought nobody'd be there?"

"Probably not,"

"Unbelievable," I said in disbelief before getting out of the car. The cold air was made more noticable by the strong wind and I began to shiver before we'd even taken two steps. "So where is this vampire lair?"

"In an old warehouse, apparently. There is a lot out here that were supposed to be demolished years ago. They're mostly where all the homeless stay during winter,"

"How do you know all this?"

"I've had centuries to experience different lifestyles,"

"I'm guessing none lacked ladies."

He chuckled.

The icy breeze felt like tiny needles on my skin and I continued to repeatedly rub my arms to generate heat and stop myself from freezing to death. I barely felt my finger tips once we could see the warehouses but Damon just seemed to get started.

"We should be careful. I'll go in and search the place while you wait outside,"

"Uhm, no," I said determinedly. "What if one of them hears us, waits for you to leave me and then kidnaps me?"

"What if one of them is waiting for us inside?"

"I'll have you to protect me," I complimented.

He gave me a look that translated to 'are you serious?'.

"Big bad vampire is probably the best bodyguard Whitney Houstan could've wished for," I said. I wanted to add something bitter but decided against it.

"You keep flattering me tonight, Perse,"

"You're right, I'll stop,"

"No, please, I enjoy it,"

"Let's just go in," I changed the topic.

"But stay behind me, there might be booby-traps. Who knows how paranoid they are." He rolled his eyes.

"If you made you angry, you'd be paranoid too," I retorted. He shrugged in agreement before throwing the wide door open, making the echo travel through all of the huge warehouse.

"Anyone home?" He yelled, his eyebrows raised up to his hairline as he waited at a reply. "Nope," He answered himself.

"Then let's get this party started!"

There was few things in the ex-warehouse. Only old blankets and ripped shirts. When you saw how luxurious Damon and Stefan's lifestyle was, you would think all vampires were like that.

I suppose these were hunters, always on the run, always on the chase.

I would have loved to philosophise more about the lifestyle of vampires, sadly the fucking cold was distracting me.

I didn't want to destroy Damon's happy mood, though so I kept my mouth shut and trotted after him as he contently strolled through the large warehouse. I got the feeling that he was only ever happy when he was drunk. He was happy, I was freezing. How nice.

And he was drunk. I could tell from the way his every step had a certain springiness to it and how his voice conveyed more emotions than it usually did.

When he saw a huge slightly cracked mirror his face lit up like a christmas tree.

"Damon...." I said slowly as it dawned on me that he'd do something to get himself into trouble.

He gave me a quick smirk before digging his teeth into his finger. He started rubbing it over the mirror in lines and only when he was done I realised that he'd been using his blood to write.

Stop looking.

"Damon, this could get our cover blown!"

"So?!"

"They'll know that we were here. Knowing where they live was our one advantage,"

"You forget that you have the Salvatores on your side. It's the only advantage you'll ever need," He said and his grin only widened when he saw my expression. "Come on, Perse! Live a little!"

"You're one to talk. You're dead. Fine, leave the message. I don't care. But let's just go!"

"We just gotta check out the other one, then we can go,"

"Fine," I said reluctantly and followed him out of the warehouse with my arms crossed over my chest.

Suddenly he turned around and gazed at me. He looked like a little puppy, eyes wide and his lips twisted into a nearly unnoticable pout.

"You're cold," He said. I wanted to argue but just in that moment my teeth began to clatter and a shiver ran down my spine.

Damon's eyes never once left mine as he peeled himself out of his jacket. His arms reached around me and he gently placed the black jacket on my shoulders. He glanced at my lips and just in that moment I realised how close we were.

I should have done something, like taken a step back or told a joke to lighten up the mood and get myself out of this situation that brought back so many memories, like how his lips felt on mine or how good it felt when he touched me.

But I didn't.

There was this gravity pulling me towards him that I could resist as long as he kept his distance. I knew it was wrong, and I doubted that he felt anything for me (or felt anything at all) but that's how it was.

So I waited. My breathing hitched and I could feel my heart beating through my chest as his eyes were caught on my lips. I could feel them go dry and used my tongue to wet them. He swallowed heavily.

Suddenly I felt a sneeze coming up. I tried to supress it but didn't win that fight. I sneezed right in his face. He stepped back.

"Charming." He pulled his face into a disgusted grimace and wiped the non-existent snot off with his hand.

"It's not my fault humans get sick when spending hours in the cold!"

"You wanted to come,"

"I did, but-"

"Let's just get this over with," He cut me off.

"Cause that's what we do, isn't it? We finish things and disappear," I mumbled but I had no doubt that he heard it.

This took ages to write! Sorry. Next chapter is gonna be real short.