Not About You

Chapter One

Lucy Williams had been in Mystic Falls for a grand total of three days when she encountered her first vampire. To be fair the population was much smaller than it would become later so she could be forgiven for not coming across one sooner. She'd been driving around the area attempting to familiarize herself with the roads when she came across a man laying across her lane in the middle of the road. He didn't appear injured and his position certainly wasn't natural. Idiot.

She hummed in thought as she brought her midnight blue '69 Charger to a stop and put the car in park. She didn't shut off the ignition in case she needed to make a quick getaway but she doubted it would be necessary. Leaning over, she removed a stake from her glovebox and tucked it into her sleeve before getting out of the car. After a long stretch with no movement from the asshole laying in the road, she cleared her throat. "So, are you planning to move or do you want me to just run you over? I'd really rather not risk the damage to my car so if you could like roll out of the way or something, I'd appreciate it."

In a flash, the man was standing in front of her with a scowl twisting his handsome face. His eyes shifted as he attempted to compel her. "You won't scream no matter what happens."

She shrugged and arched a brow. "Okay, but only if you make the same promise." She nudged the point of the stake against his chest as he seemed not to have noticed it.

He stepped back, putting enough space between them so he could be safe well before she staked him. His gaze narrowed. "I'm going to enjoy killing you."

"Do you have to be an asshole? Seriously. I'm new in town and could use a friend, but we can't hang if you're going to be a dick. I have a strict no douche policy." Some of Lucy's favorite people were vampires. Nothing said this guy couldn't become one of them. Besides, her choices were befriend the vampire or kill him. She'd already signed a year lease on her apartment and having to constantly look over her shoulder for angry vamps wasn't an option for her. "If we could skip the whole 'I'm going to kill you' thing and move right on to 'I like this human,' that would be super."

The vampire tilted his head as he looked her over so she took the opportunity to do the same. He was certainly pretty, this one. Dark hair and brilliant blue eyes were her favorite combination after all. And then he smirked and a wicked glint shone in his eye. Damn, that just wasn't fair.

"What's your name, little human?"

She could tell from his tone that he was amused. "Lucy Williams. Yours?"

"Damon Salvatore," he said with a little bow. He took her hand and brought it to his lips to kiss the back of it. "Now, how about I buy you a drink?"

***

Lucy's life had been filled with people that came and went as she moved around. There were only two constants no matter where she ended up—her father and his best friend, who she'd called uncle since she could talk. Her father had been a roving spirit for most of his life and that hadn't stopped when he had a child. The two of them had been on their own since Lucy was a month old and they never stayed anywhere for long. As long as they had each other they were happy. Her uncle was a vampire who would pop into their lives for months at a time and then be gone just as quickly.

Then her father had gone and gotten himself killed in the most mundane way possible. A brain aneurysm while he was crossing the street. He collapsed in the middle of the crosswalk and never came home.

She'd traveled around for awhile visiting old friends but not making any new ones. This trip to Virginia was her first attempt at making a new life for herself. One without her father. It was a journey she'd feared she'd have to make on her own and then she'd met Damon Salvatore. The two of them had been attached at the hip since the night they met. They clicked. And they talked. About everything.