Damon Salvatore (darkcrow) wrote in landofatlantis, @ 2011-05-11 23:25:00 |
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Entry tags: | caroline forbes - awkward subtext, damon salvatore - darkcrow |
Who: Damon and Caroline (~darkcrow & ~awkwardsubtext)
What: Having ice cream and talking
When: Wednesday evening
Where: Ice cream parlor then the beach
Damon had been drinking... heavily... the day and night before. He didn't know why the thought of Caroline rejecting him hurt so much. Perhaps it was that he was tired of the rejection? He was so out of it when he got home, he passed out immediately. Or, so he thought. When he woke up, he picked up his phone to see if Caroline had called, texted, anything. What he found was frightening. He had drunk texted her. And told her he loved her. What was he thinking? Oh, fuck. But she had agreed to meet him when he was sober, and here he was - sober. He grinned with satisfaction at that. He would get to spend some time with her, no matter what the reason. So he quickly dressed in a silk black button-down and black slacks, running a hand carelessly through his hair.
He headed to her room with a smirk in place. He couldn't play games tonight. A lot depending on it. Taking a deep breath to steel himself, he knocked at the door. He hoped only the one Caroline, his Caroline, was home and he wouldn't have to suffer through the confusion of the other.
Caroline's confusion had escalated the previous day. Tyler had posted asking for help preparing for the next full moon, and Caroline couldn't deny him help. Seeing him had brought old feelings back. Feelings that she had been sure she'd pushed away when he left town. But now, with him being here and their air having been cleared about why he left it just added to everything else. Because apparently Damon's recent obsession with her hadn't been enough.
She wasn't sure if she was ready to talk to Damon, but him being drunk enough to text her nearly unintelligable messages made her actually worry about him. She thought that if she agreed to speak to him sober he might actually let himself get sober, even if it meant following through on his part.
She wasn't sure if she was really expecting him to follow through or not, but maybe she should have. He'd sent the rose to her, after all. Though with the rose there had been a message saying he would wait. The text message was the exact opposite of waiting. And that frustrated her too. When she heard the knock at the door, she went to answer it and got her answer when she saw him... or a Damon... standing on the other side.
"Are you sober?" she asked him, arms crossed over her chest. She remained on the inside of the door so he couldn't touch her. If he wasn't her--not hers, but the one who wanted her--Damon, then he wouldn't know what he was talking about. And if he was, she would get a straight answer from him before stepping out of the apartment.
Damon felt horrible about that. He had promised her space, and there he was, texting her while hammered. Thankfully, vampires healed fast and he had fully recovered. Looking sheepish, he nodded. "Yeah... I didn't even realize I had done that when I woke up a bit ago," he said, giving her a small shrug. "I'm sorry I didn't respect your request." He was being formal, something he rarely did, but he wanted her to be happy. He wanted to be the one to make her happy.
Caroline was pretty sure she had never seen Damon look like that. No, in fact she was positive that she had never seen him like that. She didn't quite know how to take it. Despite the other Damon telling her that he could guarantee this Damon wasn't simply trying again to hurt her, she was still wary. She had to be.
"Alright," she said, her tone not warming up despite his apology. If he expected her to thaw immediately just because he apologized, he would be in for a surprise. "I'll be right back." She left the door open because he couldn't enter anyway and went to her room to get her purse and her key. She was clearly not ready to just walk straight out of the apartment and she hoped that he noticed that. That she wasn't stopping her world for him.
She returned moments later and stepped through the doorway to the side he stood on and closed and locked the door behind her. "Where are we going to talk?" she asked him. Surely he knew they couldn't talk in her apartment. While she did live with three vampires, there was actually one human in her apartment. She didn't know about his own living situation, but she didn't really care either. She felt better not being anywhere near beds when she was around him.
Damon waiting, inwardly cursing himself for not calling or texting her to make sure she was ready. But he didn't want to ruin his chances, either. He was impatient as she gathered her things, and probably checked her hair and make-up (wasn't that what all girls did?), but he showed no signs of it outwardly. He simply stood still, with his hands clasped in front of him.
When she rejoined him, he took in her appearance from head to toe. Caroline Forbes was a breathtaking woman. She was an even more breathtaking vampire. At her question, he did the gentlemanly thing - the thing he would have done were he still human. He held out his arm to him so she could take it. "A coffee shop, if that's what you want. Or ice cream," he suggested, arching his brows as he looked down at her.
Caroline hadn't honestly cared too much about her hair and make-up this time around. Usually, it was one of her top priorities but she didn't feel at all compelled to impress Damon. He was the one who was supposed to impress her, after all. Or try. If he actually did like her--which remained to be seen on her part--she had technically already impressed him. Without even trying.
She glanced at his arm as he offered it. She knew she was supposed to take it, but if she did would that imply that she thought of this as a date? She had told him that this was just to talk, but he had also been drunk. She couldn't trust his memory. So she gingerly linked her arm with his. "This is not a date," she told him. "Just so we're clear."
She was glad that he hadn't suggested alcoholic drinks. While she enjoyed her share of drinks, she didn't want him drinking tonight. She wanted him to be completely honest with her without alcohol in his system and she wanted him to remember everything she had to say. "Ice cream would be fine," she said after giving the coffee or ice cream question a little thought.
He smiled when she took his arm, rolling his eyes. "I know, Caroline. We're just gonna talk. But, you know, I am not the monster everyone thinks I am. I can be a gentleman," he said, leading her down the hallway. Ice cream was right up her alley, and he was glad he had suggested it.
He made no conversation as they exited the building and set off down the road the short distance to the ice cream parlor. He kept casting her sidelong looks, to see how she was feeling, if she were making any faces, so on... but he couldn't discern anything. It was frustrating. But, he would keep his frustrations and impatience in check tonight. He wanted Caroline to see the him that he kept covered in bravado and sarcasm. He wanted them to enjoy one another completely.
When they entered the shop, the bell tinkled and the girl behind the counter beamed at him... until she saw Caroline, then the smile faded just a bit. He smirked. Women did that often, but he honestly didn't care for them. And he would make sure Caroline knew, if he had to. They approached the counter and he leaned against it lazily, pulling her arm from the crook of his elbow into his hand for only a brief moment, then released it. "Caroline, what would you like?" he asked her, since the bitch behind the counter didn't.
Caroline held her tongue when he told her he wasn't the monster everyone thought he was. He had been a monster to her using her for food and to do his bidding. But he had already apologized for that, and while she had yet to determine if it was sincere or not, she didn't feel it necessary to bring it up again. "I guess we'll see, then," she answered him. If he wanted her to believe he wasn't a monster, he was going to have to prove it.
She noticed the girl's expression change from warm to frosty as she looked from Damon to Caroline, but she honestly didn't care. She knew Damon was attractive, hell she had even been attracted to him. And while she was definitely the jealous type--especially after being turrned--she didn't have anything to be jealous of. Maybe she would if Damon won her over, but he hadn't managed to do that yet.
Regardless, it did bother her that she wasn't even asked what she wanted. She shot Damon a semi-appreciative glance. "I'll just have a chocolate cone," she told him. If the girl wanted to ignore her presence, Damon could order for her.
Damon looked from Caroline, with a smile on his face, back to the girl, to whom he glared. If looks could kill... "Did you hear her, or should I spell it out?" he asked, and the girl nodded, then shook her head. But Damon didn't want to be a royal ass in front of Caroline, so he said more pleasantly, "She will have a chocolate cone, and I would like a cup of vanilla." When the girl ran off to get their ice cream (which should take relatively no time, but sometimes people acted like it was rocket science), he turned back to Caroline, giving her a quick smile. The windows on the three walls that did not hold the counter and fixings filled the entirety of the walls. You could see the beach from here, with their preternatural vision. He glanced out the window, watching as a wave lapped the beach, which gave him idea.
He looked back at Caroline and proposed, "Since we won't have any privacy here with that one about-" he indicated the girl who was taking her time with their simple order- "would you like to take a walk to the beach to talk? We could sit on a bench and talk, if you like?"
Caroline rolled her eyes at the girl's back. She didn't have any reason to be a rude little bitch. Caroline didn't really even want to be anywhere near Damon right now. Not that he was doing anything horrible. In fact, sticking up for her had actually been kinda nice. It was just the confusion and need for time factor. She hadn't really gotten the time she needed. But she had been the one to say she'd see him tonight if he was sober.
When he mentioned taking a walk to the beach, Caroline turned to face the same direction he was and she could see it in the distance. "The beach would be fine," she answered. At least out there their voices would be killed by other sounds and wouldn't carry as much. And it was kinda nice out there.
Damon inclined his head as he turned to pay for the ice creams. He waved his hand dismissively at the change, then handed Caroline her cone. He took his cup and small spoon and lead the way back out. He took a small bite of the freezing substance and let it glide down his throat before he spoke. "I'm sorry, for not giving you more time. I really didn't mean to put pressure on you," he said as they walked side by side. There was a nice breeze coming off of the ocean, and while there were a few pedestrians, they should be able to speak freely as they moved along.
Wanting to show her that he wasn't trying to apply pressure, he glanced sideways at her. "So, how are you doing? How is this place treating you? What do you think about all of this?" he asked, gesturing his hands (spoon and cup, as well) in the air to indicate that 'all of this' meant 'this new place'.