11. Dangerous Territory

            During the rest of that week, I ended up training three more days after my first session. The following week was bound to be only three days of training. I was still slow when fighting back, but my predictability was coming down gradually, though sometimes I thought everybody was lying about that.

I learned simple things like freeing myself from a guy’s grip by either hitting them in the groin or biting their hand if it was near my face. I hadn’t learned to twist an arm behind the person’s back yet. I never got the chance to test that maneuver out. I hoped that was soon.

            The threat of vampire hunters sparked a little bit during the first week of training. Caroline suspected there were at least two hanging around Mystic Falls. Apparently, the suspects were acting shady, asking around for unusual activity. She never got a good look at them, though, so we had no idea what they looked like. We didn’t react extreme on it, but it made us become a little more guarded when out in public.

            Trevor seemed to be fading from my mind consciously, but subconsciously, he still lurked. He starred in my dreams like he had before, only he was playing a darker role in my dreams—the role of my killer. Once again, the dreams didn’t fail to look real to me, so real that I woke up with a jolt. I sometimes wondered if I would still be having nightmares if I had never met Trevor or come to Mystic Falls to begin with.

            I forced myself awake in the middle of the night once again. I sat up, rubbing my sleepy eyes. Another nightmare involving Trevor…only it involved Elena, Caroline, Stefan, and Damon as well. It had been a pretty vivid dream—seeing three of them staked (Damon, Stefan, and Caroline) and watching as Trevor staked Elena right in front of me. Her agonizing scream had made me cry and blur my vision as her staked body had fallen to the ground. Trevor, with red eyes, had stalked to me, a stake in his hand, ready to deliver the death blow to me.

I had woken up when the stake was about ready to strike my heart.

            “I think you need medication to cure that,” said a voice in the dark.

I yipped, ready to scramble out of bed, but pressure captured my legs. My heart thudded. Dear God, what if a vampire hunter found the house already? Had they killed Elena and Jeremy? Were they about to torment me until they staked me? I blanched at the thought.

“Control your heart, would you?”

            I frowned in the dark. Now that I recognized the voice, I had no reason to worry—I just had reason to throw a fit.

            “What are you doing in my room, Damon?” I snarled groggily. “More importantly, why are you in the house? Elena will kill you if she wakes up and hears you.”

            “Elena knows I’m here, Faith,” he retorted smartly. I rolled my eyes. “She’s the reason I’m here. She went out to go check on Caroline.”

            “Why? What happened?”

            “Someone tried to break into her house.”

            Immediately I didn’t think it was a burglary of any sort. “You don’t think it was a hunter, do you?” My voice dropped to a horrified whisper.

            “It could’ve been, but nobody’s sure.” I saw his figure shrug. “Elena is over with her now, trying to calm her down. I don’t see why she’d freak out; she could’ve easily killed the hunter.”

            “Damon, if she’s paranoid like me, then killing would be the last thing on her mind.”

            “Some vampire she is, then, if she thinks like a human does,” he scoffed.

            “I bet she hasn’t been a vampire as long as you have.” I sucked in a breath. “Does Jeremy know about this? What about Bonnie?”

            “Neither of them knows. Jeremy’s asleep. Elena called me to be on babysitting duty for the night since she didn’t feel the need to bother her brother,” Damon grumbled. “Besides, she felt that if any hunters tried to break into the house, who better to drive them off than a vampire?”

            “That sounds like a stupid idea,” I mused. “If hunters were trying to break in and knew you were a vampire, they’d tell others.”

            “Not if I killed them.” I heard the smile in his tone. I shivered. “So now I’m on guard duty until Elena gets back.”

            “Why is it always you that gets to watch me or keep me out of trouble? Why doesn’t Stefan ever appear? I see more of you than him, and he is Elena’s boyfriend!”

            “I volunteer to watch over you.”

            That confused me and caught me off guard. “Why?” I asked slowly. “You and I butt heads a lot. Besides, shouldn’t you use the night to go prey on girls with low self-esteem and drink their blood?”

            “Is that what you think I do at night?” He seemed rather offended.

            “It seems like the kind of thing you would do.” I yawned. “Look, I’m tired. Can you go make yourself scarce so I can go back to sleep?”

            “I can’t, I have to keep watch over you for Elena. Besides, whether I’m here or not, you won’t go back to sleep easily.”

            “Then what do you suggest we do?” I snapped.

            “You somehow go to sleep, and I will just have to continue to watch over you.”

            I heard a yawn slip from Damon.

            “What time is it?” I asked curiously.

            “The middle of the night.”

            “When’s the last time you’ve slept?” That question came out of nowhere.

            “Hmm…two days ago.”

            “Two days?” I stammered. “Did you forget your kind actually sleeps?”

            “I’ve been restless with a lot on my mind lately, Faith.”

            “I know this will sound really awkward…but, you could sleep in here for tonight. I would exile you to the couch, but you’d probably drop dead getting to the stairs and fall down them,” I teased.

            “I was waiting for you to kick me out. Since when are you nice to me?”

            “I don’t know. Since when did you decide to volunteer to keep me out of trouble from the moment I met you?”

            “Touché.”

            I turned over and scooted to a side of the bed while Damon made himself comfortable on top of the covers. It felt weird, having a vampire sleep next to me in the bed. I guess it was safer than having a murderer next to me.

            I didn’t want to see any more nightmares for the rest of the night.

*       *       *

            I felt extremely comfortable; I didn’t want to get out of bed. Whatever I was snuggling against was nice…and moving. Moving?

I moved my head, cracking my eyes open. I was too tired to freak out over having half of my body lying on Damon’s chest. I definitely remembered being on the other end of the bed last night when trying to go back to sleep. I must’ve crawled over to him in the middle of the night. That was the only explanation I could think of in my sleepy state of mind.

            I tried to prop myself up, but I felt Damon’s arm was stuck around my waist. I muted a yawn, grimacing at his arm around me. Had Damon used compulsion on me when I was asleep? I still felt fully clothed, so he hadn’t taken advantage of me sleeping inches away from him. Maybe he had slept soundly through the night like I wished I had.

            I considered poking Damon awake, but I wasn’t sure what consequences would come with that, so I decided to not provoke him. Instead, I laid against him in the dimly lit bedroom, closing my eyes, waiting to fall back asleep.

            “I know you’re awake,” he mumbled.

I heaved a sigh. “Now I know you are,” I retorted tiredly. I cracked my eyes open again, pushing Damon’s arm off my body. I got myself up with one elbow, glaring down at him. He hadn’t decided to get comfortable in the bed; no clothes were off him. Thank God. I couldn’t imagine what it would look like if Elena walked in to see Damon with me in bed and him with clothes off. I shuddered at the thought. “Can you explain this to me?”

            “I can, actually.” He ran a hand through his dark hair. “You were freaking out again and woke me up. I didn’t even have to wake you, I touched you and you were okay. I figured since that worked I’d keep you close to me for the rest of the night. You never did anything again.”

            “Really?” I choked. It seemed logical, but at the same time it didn’t. Elena never told me she had to only touch me to calm me down during the night. Still, Damon could be lying about the whole thing. “I don’t believe you.”

            “You wouldn’t,” he agreed. “What if I told you that you kept mumbling things, tossing and turning? Would that convince you?”

            “It would depend on what I mumbled.” I tossed my bed head, spitting out a hair that decided to fly into my mouth.

            “Something about you begging for your life to be spared. What kind of dreams do you have every night?”

            “They aren’t pretty ones.” I sighed, plopping onto my back on the bed. “I wonder what time it is…” I slipped out of bed, yanking up the blinds. Faint sunlight kissed my face. “Ugh, early morning.”

            “You’ll probably crash later since you didn’t get a lot of sleep last night.” I heard the bed squeak as Damon readjusted himself.

            “Did Elena come back yet?”

            Just then, the phone rang. Immediately, I trotted out of the room, thumping down the stairs and into the living room to find the phone. I was almost convinced a house phone didn’t exist since Elena and Jeremy had cell phones. I needed to get one of my own soon; it’d be nice to have one.

            “Elena?” I asked.

            “Oh, Faith, I thought you’d still be sleeping,” Elena whispered. “Sorry, I shouldn’t have called so early.”

            “No, no, it’s fine. Is everything okay with Caroline?”

            “I’m not sure. She’s being really paranoid right now about hunters around the house.”

            “So there were hunters around her place last night?” I paled.

            “We think so. One was an idiot enough to leave a somewhat dull stake lying around outside.”

            My heart skipped a beat. Trevor had called reinforcements. Vampire hunters were in Mystic Falls once again. Our lives were in danger, but not as much as they would soon be if the hunters found out about what we knew.

            “Fay?” Elena’s voice sounded distant. “Is everything okay?”

            “Yeah,” I croaked.

            “Don’t worry, everything will be fine. Look, I don’t know when I’ll be back home, so Damon is going to have to stay with you just a little bit longer. I’m not leaving Caroline until she’s settled down entirely. If Jeremy asks where I am, just tell him I’m with her, okay?”

            “Sure. I can do that,” I promised. “What are Stefan and Bonnie doing about the situation? Have you told them?”

            “Stefan is doing some searching; Bonnie is planning on trying out some protective spells to help Caroline calm down. I’m having her over later when I know she’s awake.”

            “Good plan. If it’s possible, can she come down here to do protective spells?” I squeaked. “A little extra protection wouldn’t hurt.”

            “We’ll see. If hunters happen to find the house and surround it, get out as quickly as you can. Since Damon keeps volunteering to look out for you, he’ll know a safe hiding spot to take you to.”

            “Do you know why he wants to play babysitter?” I paced in front of the couch habitually.

            “No, but I have a hunch. It sounds silly, though.” There was a pause between us. “I have to go, Faith. Keep safe, okay?”

            “I’ll try,” I murmured weakly.

            Elena hung up and I set down the phone. I sunk onto the couch, my brain pounding. Vampire hunters were back in Mystic Falls. Trevor had no doubt given them hints, either that or they just happened to find Caroline’s place by chance. My stomach dropped at the thought of them invading the house right now, with Jeremy asleep and Damon upstairs. Damon…

            He still had to know about what Elena just told me. I wondered why Elena didn’t want Jeremy to know right away. Maybe she wanted to tell him herself later, because she might think I wasn’t a reliable source to get information from.

            I put my face in my hands, trying to breathe deeply. Okay, well, at least we know there are hunters around. We just have to find them, that’s all, I told myself calmly. Sadly, a stake wasn’t going to help us track down hunters and send them on their way back to wherever they came from.

            “Faith?” Jeremy’s voice made me snap my head up. He was already dressed for work. “What’s wrong?”

            “My dreams are making me paranoid. You know, the usual,” I teased grimly. I stretched my legs out. “Oh, Elena said that she’s with Caroline. She’s probably going to be with her the entire day.”

            “Do you mind if I take your car for today to work, then?”

            “Knock yourself out. Just don’t hurt it.”

            Jeremy snatched my car keys and left. I heard Damon’s obnoxious feet clomp down the stairs once Jeremy drove off in my car to the Grill.

            “So it was a hunter,” he mused.

            “Yup,” I huffed, lying across the couch. I wasn’t really shocked that he could eavesdrop from such a long distance. I glared up at the ceiling. “One left a stake outside of Caroline’s house. They probably knew that she knew they were there and ran before she could catch them. Cowards. And it looks like you’re on guard duty until she gets back home.”

            Damon didn’t seem to mind playing babysitter. He never ate anything, but he did try to find the nearest liquor he could get his hands on. He even tried to ask me where the booze was. Like I’d know where the alcohol was in this house. I wouldn’t be able to tell him if my life depended on it.

*      *      *

            It seemed that Elena was going to be at Caroline’s all day like she said. She never called or anything, so I assumed she wasn’t going to be home for a while longer. I didn’t mind Damon being around, but I missed Jeremy’s company, and Elena’s. I would feel more at ease knowing that there was more than just Damon in the house.

            Speaking of the vampire, he kept close tabs on me. He’d peer out windows for suspicious people walking near the house. Thankfully, there were none. I didn’t use my voice much, so there was constant silence in the house.

            Eventually, I got fed up with it.

            “Okay, I can’t go all day not talking,” I groaned. I was back in my bedroom; the sun was getting ready to set soon. “Silence is irritating.”

            “What is there to talk about?” Damon asked. He was standing in the doorway, leaning against the frame. I sat on the bed, legs folded in front of me. My fingers fiddled with my hair as I stared at my feet.

            “Well, for one, I know barely anything about you,” I listed. “I know nothing about your past.”

            “That’s too long of a story to get into.”

“Nobody has really told me how they became a vampire, either.”

            “That’s a long story too, Faith.”

            “Are there any short stories that you know of?” I didn’t an answer to that question. “Can you at least tell me how old you are?” I pleaded.

            “Almost two hundred.”

            “Do you get stronger the longer you’re a vampire?”

            “I can’t see a change.”

            “How do you become a vampire?”

            Damon’s eyebrows rose. Blush rose in my cheeks. Since Elena and Jeremy weren’t home, I figured Damon would openly tell me. It was just out of curiosity. I didn’t want to be a vampire, I liked being human. I couldn’t imagine spending the rest of eternity as a living being who was considered dead who feasted on blood.

            “How did this suddenly become a game of Twenty Questions?”

            “I hate being bored.” I shrugged.

“You have to keep this between us.” Damon crossed the bed to me, sitting on the edge of it. My eyes didn’t leave his.

“So you’re actually willing to tell me? I thought you didn’t want to risk heart surgery from Elena.”

“Hey, what she doesn’t know won’t hurt her.” He took a minute to think over his words. “We can’t change a human into a vampire easily. We don’t have venom that’ll easily change people, nor do we turn a human with one single bite. If that were the case, there’d be a lot more of us.” He chuckled to himself and then became serious. “Our blood has to be in their system first. When they die, the blood kicks in, and they’re in transition. They have a full day to feed, so they either live to be a vampire or they refuse to drink blood and die.” His voice was dark towards the end.

            “That’s a very…different way to do it,” I said slowly. “I don’t think I could do that—be able to be a vampire.”

            “That’s what Elena thought, but she’s handling it well, considering how much she hated it in the beginning.”

            “I’m guessing you loved your new life when you found out what you were?”

            “After some time, I did. I still do.” He smiled slyly. “There are benefits to this life.”

            “Like being a womanizer if you weren’t already in your first life? Getting blood must not be hard for you,” I teased.

 Damon’s eyes narrowed. Had I crossed the line with my snide comment? Oh sure, he could say endless comments like that, but when I did it I got the stink eye? How was that fair?

            “What?” I snapped. “I can’t throw out a snippy comeback?”

            “No, it’s not that. There’s a story to you, I’m sure. You can’t be Miss Perfect Life.”

            I wished I was.

            “I never said I was,” I retorted. “I lost my parents when I was a freshman in high school.” I didn’t make eye contact with Damon, afraid that if I did, I would burst into tears. “It was a random home invasion, they were both killed. Imagine coming home to police, news crews, and neighbors around your house, not to mention caution tape.” I dropped my eyes, my lower lip trembled. “I’m glad to have someone like Elena in my life. She’s like the sister I never had.” I shut my eyes to hold back the tears. Great, this was the last thing I wanted to do—cry in front of Damon.

            “Why did you come here, anyway?”

            “I couldn’t stay in Maryland anymore.” I shrugged, opening my eyes. “I couldn’t stay in the state where my parents died. Staying there only held bad memories for me, it was becoming too much for me. I moved out of my grandparents’ place to here. I thought things were going to change…”

            “But they did.”

            “Not for the better,” I snapped bitterly. “I’ve been brought into a different world that seems more dangerous than the world I’ve been living in!”

            “You’ll get used to it if you haven’t already.”

            I flinched but didn’t pull my face away as Damon pushed my chin up with his fingers. My skin crawled in a shockingly pleasant way. I didn’t know about him, but I could feel the tension in the room. It wasn’t an angry tension. It was something more.

            It was like I was almost not aware of what was happening. Damon pressed his lips to mine so softly that I nearly pulled away, being reminded of Trevor. But Damon wasn’t like that. I knew he wasn’t going to kill me. He could torment me with his snide remarks and all, but he wouldn’t hurt me.

            My hands instinctively grabbed his face, my nails pinching his skin. I maneuvered my body so I sat on my legs. My lips still tingled as we broke apart. I swallowed, looking into Damon’s eyes. My mind felt really fuzzy, and I couldn’t really think straight.

Why did this just happen? I was trying to find an answer, but I couldn’t think of one. I was trying to control my fuzzy mind, frantic heart, and tingling skin.

            It took a few moments, but my mind started working again.

            My hands dropped to my sides. “Did you just use compulsion on me without realizing it?”

            “No,” he said shortly. “That was all you.”

            “You—you need to get out of here,” I murmured. I jumped off the bed, heading for the door. This awkward moment needed to end now before it got worse.

            The door slammed in front of my face. I whipped around only to have Damon back me into the door. My breath and body shook.

            “What do you think you’re doing?” I snarled.

            “Don’t try to run from it,” he crooned.

            “Run from what?”

            “That kiss. Your feelings.”

            “Excuse me, but who died and made you my conscience? I know how I feel, Damon. You don’t.”           

              “You don’t think I do?” he scoffed. “Please.” He took a step forward, forcing me to press against the door. “I can see it in your eyes, Faith. You can fool other people and even yourself, but not me.”

            “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

            “I can tell you feel something for me.” He smirked.

            “So you keep watching over me to try and prove that?” I squawked. “Is that why you keep volunteering to either bring me back here or babysit me all the time?”

            “No, I keep sticking around because I want to see how long it takes you to realize it.”

            “Are you sure you aren’t the one who has feelings for me? Are you trying to hide the truth you don’t want to tell anybody because you’re afraid people will think you’ve gone soft?”

            “Faith, I could hear your heart race. I can still hear it.” He bent his face close to mine. “I have an effect on you. You just won’t accept it.”

            “Is this some plot of yours to get blood from me? Is this what you always say to hook the girls in, so that you can pounce when they least expect it?”

            “What is with you and your constant attacking me on being a womanizer?”

“That’s because that’s what you are! If this is a plot to, I’ll—”

            “You’ll do what, Faith? Hmm? What could you possibly do to me?”

            “I-I hadn’t gotten that far yet,” I confessed, feeling defeated. “All I know is that you’re nothing more than a partier and a womanizer.”

            “My God, you repeat yourself a lot,” he groaned. “That was the old me.”

            “No, I’m pretty sure it’s still the you I’m looking at right now.  I haven’t seen that side of you yet, though I get the feeling that I’m starting to see it right now.”

            “I’ll prove you wrong. Just hold still…”

            It wasn’t hard to since my body was frozen where I stood anyway. I couldn’t escape Damon when he kissed me again. A ripple went down my spine. Again, my hands grabbed his face. His hands found my waist and stayed there. He never went rough; he stayed soft the entire time.

            There was no other explanation to all this. I realized this wasn’t some attempt to get blood from me, despite the fact that my thoughts had been leaning to nothing but that. If it was an attempt to, he would’ve done it by now instead of wasting all this time talking to me and kissing me.

Had everyone known this when I had come here to Mystic Falls? Was this the real reason why Elena wanted to keep me from Damon, because of what was going on right now? Did she fear that something like this would happen from the moment she told me I could stay with her and Jeremy?

            There was no way that I could deny that what was going on here meant only one thing: Damon was in love with me.

**I'm sure people were expecting it, they just weren't sure when. For those FaithxDamon shippers, here you go! As I've read back on this, I realize I'm a Stelena girl. Now, no Delena shippers come after me for my opinion. Yeah, sure, some aspects of the Delena relationship I do like, but I've always liked her with Stefan, probably because I preferred Elena to be human. Weird that I'm saying that since she's a vampire in this story, right?**