vampire diaries MIDNIGHT | Page 5

th at’s w hy I d on’t u nders ta nd h ow I c a n fe el th e fe ar I fe el n ow . H ow c a n
yo u b e te rrif ie d o f s o m eone w ho’s k is se d y o u a nd k is se d y o u… and c a lle d y o u
his d arlin g a nd h is s w eeth eart a nd h is p rin ce ss? A nd w ho h as la ughed w it h y o u
wit h h is e ye s d ancin g w it h m is ch ie f? A nd w ho’s
h e ld
y o u w hen y o u w ere

fr ig hte ned, a nd to ld y o u th ere w as n oth in g to b e a fr a id o f, n ot w hile h e w as th ere ?
Som eone y o u o nly h ad to g la nce a t to k n ow w hat h e w as th in kin g? S om eone
who h as p ro te cte d y o u, n o m atte r w hat th e c o st to h im se lf , fo r d ays o n e nd?
I k n ow D am on. I k n ow h is fa ult s , b ut I a ls o k n ow w hat h e’s lik e in sid e. A nd h e’s
not w hat h e w ants p eople to th in k h e is . H e’s n ot c o ld , o r a rro gant, o r c ru el.
Those a re fa ça des h e p uts o n to c o ve r h im se lf , lik e c lo th es.
The p ro ble m is th at I’m n ot s u re
h e
k n ow s h e is n ’t a ny o f th ese th in gs. A nd
rig ht n ow h e’s a ll m ix e d-u p. H e m ig ht c h ange a nd b eco m e a ll o f th em — beca use
he’s s o c o nfu se d.
What I’m tr y in g to s a y is , th at m orn in g o nly D am on w as r e ally a w ake . H e w as
th e o nly o ne w ho s a w th e b ouqu et. A nd o ne o f th e th in gs D am on d efin it e ly
is ,
is
cu rio us.
So h e u nw ra pped a ll th e m agic a l w ard s fr o m it a nd it h ad a s in gle p it c h -b la ck
ro se in th e c e nte r. D am on h as b een tr y in g to fin d a b la ck r o se fo r y e ars , ju st to
adm ir e it , I th in k. B ut w hen h e s a w th is o ne h e s m elle d it … and
b o om !
T he r o se
dis a ppeare d!
And s u ddenly h e w as s ic k a nd d iz zy a nd h e c o uld n’t s m ell
a nyth in g
a nd a ll h is
oth er s e nse s w ere d ulle d a s w ell. T hat w as w hen S age— oh, I h ave n’t e ve n
mentio ned S age, b ut h e’s a ta ll b ro nze g org eous h unk o f a v a m pir e w ho’s b een
su ch a