Vampire Diaries Blood Brothers

~Chapter Twenty Five~

Lexi Branson

Rolling over on the guest bed in Stefan's mansion of a house, I smiled as a light breeze wafted through the window. Welcoming the scent of pine and oak, my eyes fluttered open to see my best and oldest friend's idiot brother.
   "Boo." Damon raised the same black, bushy eyebrows he had a century ago, his watery aqua eyes staring intensely like I was a tasty snack.
   "Ugh," I groaned, sitting up, shuffling as for away as I could before falling off the bed. Crossing my arms across my chest, I quickly finger combed my side fringe and straightened my shoulders, refusing to give him the pleasure of gazing upon my sexy eyes.
   "Hello Lexi," he smirked, propping himself up on his elbow, posing as though he were a super model about to have his picture taken. "What an unexpected surprise."
   Tucking my thick, golden, waist length plait over my shoulder I turned my head to face him, my perfectly shaped eyebrow raised. "Unexpected surprise?" I snorted. "I think the wrong brother went back to high school."
   "How long're you here for?" He asked, fiddling with the corner of the pillow he was leaning on, ignoring my insult. 
   Rolling my eyes, I fixed my brown-green eyes on the opposite wall, watching us from the mirror connected to the vanity. "Just for Stefan's b'day."
   "Aw," he pouted. "You mean you didn't come all this way to see me?"
   I cackled. "That's it Damon," he smiled, batting his eyelashes. "After a century I finally realised death means nothing without you, to me." I leaned close, our faces inches apart as I flicked his chin. "Uh," I breathed, pulling away from him, perched on the end of the bed while he rolled back onto his side, smiling.
   "Why are you so mean to me?" He hugged the pillow behind his head, not so discreetly trying to show off his muscles.
   "Uh, have you met you? You're not a nice person," I pointed out.
   He shrugged. "Well, because I'm a vampire," he defended, using hand gestures to make his point seem obvious.
   "But, you're only the bad parts."
   He suddenly sat up, leaning across the bed so his hand was on my thigh and his face was right up in mine. "Teach me to be good," he smirked.
   Sick of his irritating flirtatiousness, I jumped up and zipped around to his side of the bed, coiling my hand around his throat and slamming his head against the mattress. "I'm older," I growled. "And that means stronger."
   "Sorry," he gasped as I tightened my grip, my long, circular ring cutting into the skin on the underside of his chin. 
   "Don't ruin my time with Stefan," I warned. "Coz I'll hurt you and you know I can do it," I whispered harshly as my hand around his neck slowly turned into a fist.
   "OK," he rasped.
   With a final shove deep into the mattress, I released him and stepped back, adjusting my shirt before crossing my arms. "So, where's Stefan?" I raised an eyebrow. "When I arrived last night he seemed happy to see me, but now, he's gone. Where did he go?"
   "Oh, he didn't tell you?" Damon smiled, rubbing his neck as the bruise faded. "He's down at the Sheriff station giving a statement. Of course, he's probably not giving the honest statement because he killed the girl in question but... Lying's worth it when it comes to his girl crush."
   I frowned. "Girl crush?"
   "Oh, he hasn't told you?" He smirked. "Eva Gilbert is the whole reason he's in Mystic Falls, or at least the reason he stayed. Yup, very much into her. If only he hadn't lied to her so much they'd probably still be together," he pursed his lips. "Oh well! Who's up for drinks?"
   "Did your brain fall out? Or do you not remember how I could have just killed you before, but didn't, because I don't want my time with Stefan to be ruined?"
   "Right," he breathed. "Guess that's a pass on the drinks. Oh well, I'll catch you later," he scrunched his nose, smiling as he gave a little finger wave before running off.

Strolling through Stefan's bedroom, intrigued by his bookshelf stacked full with old leather and worn journals, I picked the one on top and flicked through to his latest entry.

November 4, 2009
   Tomorrow's my birthday, but I'm not looking forward to it. In fact, I would even go to say I am dreading it. When I came to Mystic Falls six months ago to see Zach, I had no intention of staying, but then I saw Eva. She flipped my entire world on its head and I cannot bear to think what will happen if she doesn't change her mind about us.
   I know I lied and kept secrets from her, but I did so for her own safety. If something happened to her because of me I could never forgive myself. She doesn't deserve to get mixed up in danger or vampires. But she is, and was surprisingly OK with it... That is until I started keeping things from her.
   I understand her hesitation to be with someone who she can't trust to tell her the truth, but I was doing so for her own good. Or at least I thought I was. Every time I see her I can tell she is battling the urge. She doesn't know what she wants, and for the moment I have decided to give her a little bit of space and some time to decide, but I need her to know she can trust me. The only problem is if I give her space, I'm not exactly letting her know she can trust me. 
   She has such a big heart, and it's broken. Fractured because she lost three of the most important people in her life. Every time she talks about Elena, I can see the pain and suffering she feels. Whenever I see her looking down, hurt or upset I just want to be there for her, but she won't let me. I think she wants me to be there for her, but she won't, not after everything I've done.
   I can't get her out of my mind and I know that if she does not choose me, I will have to leave Mystic Falls. A life without Eva is not one I want to live, but I've done it before, with Katherine. And even though Eva is different and loving and kind and everything Katherine wasn't, living in the same town as the woman I love, watching her move on with her life is not something I can do.