Not About You

Chapter Twenty-Three

Lucy spent the night tossing and turning. She knew that nap was going to bite her in the ass. Awake far earlier than she liked, she sighed and ran a hand through her hair. She pulled on a pair of pajama pants with the t-shirt she'd worn to bed. Only copious amounts of caffeine were going to get her through the day. Coffee. She needed lots and lots of coffee.

She opened her door only to jump back and yelp as something fell with a thud. Her hands were clamped over her mouth and she stared at Damon with wide eyes as he laid on the floor at her feet.

He scowled as he opened one eye to glare at her. "Ow."

"What are you doing, Salvatore?" she finally managed to ask.

He pushed himself up onto his elbows with a smirk. "You didn't want to sleep with me and I wasn't about to leave you unprotected with Katherine running around."

She couldn't stop the soft smile that curved her lips. "You didn't have to sleep in the hallway, stupid vampire. That was unnecessary. I would have been fine."

After getting to his feet, he grabbed the blanket and pillow he'd been using from the floor. "Agree to disagree, kitten." He leaned forward and gave her a quick kiss. "Now, get dressed. I'll make breakfast and we'll have an overdue conversation."

Her eyes searched his but saw no hint as to what was in store. Finally, she nodded. "As long as that breakfast includes caffeine."

He laughed and sauntered down the hall to his room. "Get a move on, Williams."

Lucy managed to swallow down two cups of coffee and three bites of pancakes before her phone rang. She answered on speaker so she could keep eating. "Hey, Stef, what's up?"

"Caroline is in transition."

Her chest went tight as pure sorrow swamped her and her fork slid from her fingers. She wasn't bothered her friend was a vampire as much as the fact she hadn't had a choice in the timing.

"What the fuck do you mean she's in transition, Stefan?" Damon snapped. He moved to the table and rested his hand on the back of Lucy's neck in a comforting gesture. "She was fine yesterday. She's in the hospital for fuck's sake. How could she possibly have died between then and now?"

"She caught a glimpse of 'Elena' right before the bitch broke her neck." Stefan was pissed of course, but truth be told he sounded just a little heartbroken as well.

"How did Katherine know she'd had my blood?" Damon asked with a frown. "Only the three of us knew and it's not like we went around announcing it."

Stefan sighed. "I don't think she did."

Lucy blinked as she processed the fact that the only reason her best friend was alive was because of dumb luck. Katherine Pierce was officially on her shit list.

"Lucy," Stefan said catching her attention. "Don't come up here. I'm going to compel us out of here once it gets dark. I'll bring her home with me. You can see her there in a more controlled environment. Damon, could you come? She's understandably freaking out. It would do her good to talk to someone besides her boyfriend about all this I think."

"Yeah, I'll be there in a bit." He left the room to get ready to go.

"Hey, Stef, you should know that while this is a shock, Caroline and I had already talked about her changing," Lucy said.

"You have?"

She smiled though he couldn't see it. "It's one of those topics that comes up when you date vampires. You either think about changing or face the fact that the relationship won't last. She was more than willing to change. She'd just intended to wait a few years. So don't let this destroy you. And for gods' sake, don't distance yourself for her own good, Salvatore."