𝐌𝐘 𝐎𝐍𝐋𝐘 𝐖𝐄𝐀𝐊𝐍𝐄𝐒𝐒, Damon Salvatore [under editing]

2.23 | THE EXCHANGE

𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐏𝐓𝐄𝐑 𝐗𝐗𝐈𝐈𝐈
⏤ The Exchange ⏤
❝Slightly narcissistic of you, wouldn't you say?❞

          𝐃𝐀𝐌𝐎𝐍 continued to shake the girl persistently, desperately trying to capture her attention; to wake her up. His breath was ripped from his throat and he was finding it difficult to last another second without breaking

After what felt like a lifetime of him obsessively attempting to jog her consciousness or provoke any response whatsoever out of the tribrid, she eventually shifted vaguely. "Damon...?" His name left her lips hoarsely as her eyes drowsily fluttered open.

Damon exhaled a heavy uneven breath, expressing his evident relief. "God, Liv, you can't... scare me like that." He pressed his lips to the side of her head, holding her close to him.

"Sorry," she murmured weakly. "I guess I was just really tired," she added before a half-hearted laugh escaped her lips that quickly shifted into several breathless and dry coughs.

"What's going on with you?" Damon asked cautiously.

"Nothing," she mumbled, pulling herself up as Damon closely followed. Liv then tried steadying herself to her feet but found herself clinging onto Damon's arm to ensure she wouldn't fall or lose her balance again.

Damon watched the girl in front of him with a concerned and quizzical gaze. She'd been getting paler and paler all day. Not to mention she'd been uncharacteristically clumsy and trembly and all of her usual grace was gone ⏤ in fact, with every step she took, she was teetering on the edge of unconsciousness. After several frustrating and confusing moments of silence in which he ransacked his mind for answers, his brows drew together apprehensively. "Liv, when was the last time you consumed any blood?"

Olivia's eyes instantly found his though she didn't meet them long before she shifted her gaze to the ground and pulled away from him. "No... no, you're not... you can't..." he shook his head, his eyes widening moderately as disorientation clouded his mind.

"Damon, just... leave it alone." She tried walking away but Damon pulled her back towards him.

"Leave it alone?" He reiterated in disbelief. "What the hell are you trying to do? Dessicate yourself!?" He yelled back at her and Olivia couldn't help but flinch at how he'd abruptly gone from talking softly and gently to raising his voice and expressing clear anger.

"I don't ⏤" she began harshly before sighing heavily in exhaustion. "I don't know."

Damon shook his head in irritation, gritting his teeth as he turned away from her. "You can't do this. I'm not letting you do this."

"You don't get to make that choice for me." She denied.

Damon sighed in frustration. "You're confused, Olivia. I get that but this... this isn't the answer."