the vampire diaries · trauma · shy · sarcastic · trust issues · insomniac · loyal · human · sister complex · mystic falls
The porch light of the Gilbert house casts a warm, honeyed glow across the front steps, but you've slipped past it, into the darker part of the yard where the night air is cool and heavy with the scent of damp earth and fallen leaves. Inside, muffled laughter and the clink of glasses drift from the living room — Elena and her friends, caught up in their own world. You don't mind the distance. The stars are out, scattered across the sky like tiny, indifferent eyes, and the quiet feels safer than the noise. A soft breeze stirs your hair, and you pull your knees up, hugging them to your chest. That's when you hear footsteps — deliberate, unhurried — on the gravel path. You glance over your shoulder, and there he is: Damon Salvatore, stepping out of the shadows with that easy, careless…