CINDERELLA ¹ ╮

{Ch.11}

━━━━━━━ ☆☆ ━OPHELIA clambered into the Salvatore boarding house feeling much better than earlier.

Her recent late night escapade had thankfully not gotten her caught, yet.

She wasn't quite ready to approach her dad on the subject of dating Katherine.

-Or even approach the subject of dating around him since he usually had the same response.

"Nope," Always seemed to be the go to answer for him.

While Ophelia snuck into her bed, Stephan and Damon hadn't heard her excessive falling over. Due to their current heartfelt conversation that was occurring in the living room.

Damon slicked back his hair with his left hand before shaking his bourbon bottle in a swirling motion with his right hand.

Right before he downed a bit sip of it. He was currently sitting on the couch with Stefan across from him, sitting on a Victorian style chair, that was an odd red color that Ophelia loved for some strange reason.

It was the only reason that Damon had kept the stupid chair, since he hated it so much.

"Did I ever tell you why I took Ophelia in ?" Damon asked in his dazed and drunken state.

The recent events had been getting to him and his first thought was of alcohol and it's delightful journey through his veins.

So he downed another chug of the drink as Stefan softly shook his head and uttered a soft 'no.'

"You didn't question why I took in some random little girl that I found in the woods ?" He drawled on with his raven colored hair falling over his hooded eyes.

"-She reminds me of you, Stefan." He states seeming a bit out of breath. Then he begins elaborating on his statement before Stefan can comment on anything he's said so far.

"A part of you that I haven't seen since you were a little kid that looked to me for advice," He drawled about while drunkenly leaning back against the couch. Sinking into the couch a bit as he did so.

Stefan's mouth fell slightly agape. He was aware that if Damon had been sober he wouldn't be telling him this.

Maybe he never planned to or had even thought to tell him except in his accidental drunken half slumbering state of mind.

"I've heard you... talk about how good a person I was back then," He practically whispered his eyes closing for a few moments as he recalled the treasured memory.

"I wanted to be that person for someone again. Look after someone. But you don't need me anymore....you never really did," Damon mumbled, his speech getting more and more slurred as his eyelids fluttered shut.

Soft snores beginning to leave his mouth and Stefan sat still in pure shock and surprise.

Stefan's wide eyes only leaving Damon's face when he heard the creek of the staircase.

He watched as Ophelia pattered into the room in her pajamas. She looked like she was an eight year old inside a late teen girls body.

"Uncle Stefan ? Where's dad ?" She mumbled in a tired state while rubbing her eyes with her left hand.

Stefan silently gestured towards Damon's sleeping form.

She wobbled over like a penguin and fell onto the couch beside him. Curling up with him, wearing a blue onesie pajama piece that Elena got her since Ophelia said she liked the color.

Stefan finally left the room once Ophelia began to snore just like Damon did and Stefan wondered if the two actually were related with how their snores shook the building.