“Damon?” Sarah called, sticking her head into the kitchen as her eyes rotated around the room. Trixie and Haguy were getting ready to leave at the moment. It was sad to see them go as soon as they finally became friends, but there was absolutely no talking them out of it. They were already hell bent on leaving. But could you blame them? They were forced to stay in an empty house by themselves, and not just any house but the home belonging to the most ruthless man alive. Who knows what kind of atrocities they’ve been through?
Then again, she had never seen Damon mistreat them, except for that one time when he demanded that they got out of their OWN room. It was unfair of her to keep calling him ruthless and vicious when, if you asked her, he didn’t seem that way at all… well not anymore. Thinking about it now, he wasn’t that bad from the beginning. Whenever she thought he’d do something crazy like hitting her or eating her alive, he always surprised her by doing something unexpected or nothing at all. And he even had the courtesy to cook her meals most of the time, though she had never asked him to.
If that wasn’t graciousness right there then she didn’t know what was. It was only that stupid thing with Alexis that made everything suddenly go wrong. But now, he was thankfully back to the grumpy old Damon who always surprises her with both his actions and words. Though… she couldn’t help but wonder what exactly happened in his past that made him so ruthless back then. She couldn’t imagine what anyone could ever do to scar a cold alpha King like him, but she tried not to let it ruffle her. She and Damon weren’t excessively awkward around each other anymore so life has been somewhat good. What was the use in worrying about his past?
Putting aside her thoughts for the time being, Sarah continued in her search for Damon. But even after checking every nook and cranny of both his and her room and all of downstairs, he was still nowhere to be seen. The only place she had yet to check were the guest rooms and Trixie and Haguy’s. The girls were packing their stuff in their room so it was obviously out of the question. And that only left the guest rooms.
Rubbing her temple in frustration, Sarah jogged up the stairs for the hundredth time since morning and turned in the left direction, heading straight down the hall to the last three rooms. She checked the first…. he wasn’t there. She checked the second… he wasn’t there. Sarah had lost all her hopes of finding him when her hand twisted the knob to the third room. But to her surprise, he was there of all places. His lips were ajar, his eyes were squeezed tightly together and his legs were spread widely apart as he slept… well acted as if he was sleeping.
“Damon, get up. I know you’re not sleeping.” Sarah deadpanned, stepping into the room and crossing her arms over her chest as her expression became somewhat stern.
Damon didn’t hold on to his act for long. He opened his eyes and sat up, frustrated gaze travelling over towards her figure. “Is that how you talk to your superior? You’ve been getting too comfy around me. I’ve noticed you barely even stutter anymore.”
Sarah held her ground. You could say she was half used to his grumpy behaviour by now… keyword: ‘half’. “You said I could speak to you like I speak to Trixie and Haguy. Are you regretting it now?”
“Regret? I have never and will never regret anything. And besides, life isn’t as boring with you yapping away everyday. It’s nice to have someone like you around again.” He admitted, eyes momentarily becoming pensive as if reminiscing.
“Again?” Sarah questioned without thinking, earning her a sharp glare. She frowned. She was positive that this all lead back to that Katie girl Liam mentioned a while back. But with Damon’s tendencies, she would probably never get to know what happened between him and that woman… whoever she was.
“Nevermind.” She dropped the question before he could scold her about minding her own business. “Trixie and Haguy are leaving soon and you haven’t brought out the cake.”
Damon sighed, eyes leaving her and sweeping up to glare at the ceiling. “I didn’t buy anything so if you want to give them cake, get it yourself.” He said it with a straight face, but Sarah knew that he was lying. She had already seen it.
“I’ve seen the cake.”
Upon hearing that, Damon scratched the back of his head harshly, his expression screaming ‘anger’. “Jason is the one who bought it. I wouldn’t partake in such foolish activities. You know that.”
“But you’re the one who brought it, weren’t you? So that just shows that you actually wanted to take part.”
“I DO NOT want to run around singing goodbye songs and cutting stupid cakes! They’re leaving so just let them leave. What the use o–”
“It isn’t a crime to do something nice, Damon.” She told him, a small smile forming on her lips. “It makes you more likable.”
Damon finally looked back over at her. A strangely good feeling was building up in his chest, a feeling that was triggered by her very last sentence, a feeling that seemed pretty close to excitement. ‘More likable?’ What did that mean? What exactly was she trying to say? Damon was definitely thinking too hard on the mere words that left Sarah’s lips on instinct, but nothing could convince him of that now. He was already too far gone into his own perception of it.
“Does that mean you like me?”
His words immediately called forth the usual Sarah into being: the one that stuttered at every word and blushed redder than a tomato. “L-Like you?”
Damon stood on his feet, his eyes as calculative as possible as he studied her. “Yes, do you like me? I’ve treated you nicer than anyone else… As a feeble human, you should be swayed by something as simple as that.”
Sarah looked at him incredulously. From what she understood, he was practically saying that all humans were easy… including her. Feeble? He’s the one whose feeble and stupid.
“Swayed?” She tried her best to make it seem like his words were ridiculous by chuckling lowly, but barely did a good job. “W-What is t-there to like? You only smile when I ask you to, you only bring me stuff when you feel like it, you’re always in a bad mood and you barely speak yet you’re always talking nonstop when you’re around me.”
In truth, those were the very traits that actually made her fond of him but to Damon, she was giving him many reasons to fume. “So you want the opposite of me?” He spat, bitterness lacing his voice. “You were paired with me, so you better take what you get. Don’t f**cking complain.”
Sarah jumped at the ‘F’ word. Damon was angry.. she made him angry. And now she had to face the consequences by practically suffocating under his dark, gloomy gaze. “I d-didn’t say I d-didn’t like you.” She quickly pointed out as his glare bored holes into her. She hadn’t thought deeply about his question yet, but those words were the first on her tongue… for some reason.
His anger seemed to suddenly deplete and he stared at her with a newfound interest. “So you do like me then?”
Sarah stood still. She knew that she would be better off with Damon not angry, but she just couldn’t say yes to that… not even for the sake of soothing him. Her wobbling lips wouldn’t let her.
So she’s ended up stuttering out a hesitant, ‘N-No.”
“You’re lying.” Damon replied almost immediately, his lips twitching upwards into a tiny smug smirk. “You either play with your fingers or rub your palms when you’re lying.”
Sarah’s eyes went wide, her heart stopping for a split second. “I do not!” She objected strongly, quickly dropping her hands which were indeed fiddling together in front her.
Damon didn’t even make any effort to object to her claims. He had gotten too elated to be bothered. “Whatever.” He began to walk forward without warning, his lips pulling further across his face. “Let’s go.”
Sarah’s eyes followed his movements in confusion. “Go where?”
“You said it would make me more likeable if I do something nice, right? So I’ll bring out the cake since you want me to.” It took a while for Damon to realize that those words had actually left his own lips… and when he did, he swallowed thickly. This was exactly how it went ten years ago. First it started with the same pull, the same entrancement. Then it went on to him doing things that he would never do before. But despite being conscious of the fact that he was redoing everything he swore he would not do, he didn’t take back his words. Why?
That warm feeling that was enveloping his chest…. he wanted to continue to feel it.
“W-Why?” Surprise rushed through Sarah’s being.
He went silent, but only for the few seconds it took him to gather his words. “Because it strangely feels nice to have someone who likes me despite who I am.”
“But I never said I-” Sarah quickly held her tongue when she took a good look at his face. Damon didn’t seem impassive nor angry. Even the small smile that always seemed dead or forced… now looked genuine.
She didn’t dare to disrupt his sudden good mood. Not when that smile of his made her feel warm inside… the same kind of warmth that Damon felt.