Disclaimer: For the fourth time in this story, I don't own The Vampire Diaries.

Chapter Four- How Much Trouble can a Dog Be?

The wide corridors of the store allowed the giant amount of people that were shopping to walk without much trouble. Damon navigated through one of them, trying to keep a terrified Lazuli from jumping from his arms. He hugged the dog tightly, but it didn't seem to be enough for him to calm down. Damon thought about the shopping list in his pocket, which he had promised himself he would use. At the moment, it seemed like he wouldn't be able to use it. If he as much as moved his arm one inch, Lazuli would jump and run away.

He opened his way through the crowd, wondering what sort of organizational system was used in that chaos of people and animals. More than one time, Damon had the distinct feeling that he had stepped on someone's puppy. Lazuli whimpered and groaned, shaking in his arms. He wanted to run and hide, to get away from all those noisy humans. Damon considered letting him jump down and saying it was an accident, but a little voice on the back of his head kept him from doing so. With a sigh, he emerged in an isle that wasn't as full. Damon frowned, wondering why the place was so crowded. Then, as woman passed by him with a Chihuahua dressed as a rain deer, he realized why. It was close to Christmas.

One of the reasons Damon had always hated his birthday was because it was so close to Christmas. His parties were always Christmas themed, his gifts were usually not as good as Stefan's… He hated it. Shaking the thought out of his head, Damon turned his attention back to the shopping he had to do. Taking a quick look around, he found that he was on the leash department. He smiled. His plan had been to buy a leash first so that he could have his arms free. He examined the products, evaluating material, quality and price. He looked at colorful ones, plain ones, silk-based, leather based, until finally he settled for a cotton blue leash adorned with several black paws. With a satisfied smile on his face, he put Lazuli down to try it on him.

Taking the opportunity, the puppy ran as fast as his little paws could take him, passing his slim body between people's legs and crawling under the displays. Damon followed him in a mad chase, knocking people and tables over with no regard for politeness. Lazuli finally came to halt at a closed door. He looked behind him, frightened by Damon chasing him. He scratched the door desperately, yowling. Just as his owner was about to reach him, a young woman opened the door, giving the dog a dirty look, and walked out. The puppy hurried inside, barking in relief.

Damon managed to stop himself before he slammed into the closed door. With a frustrated sigh, he turned the doorknob and ran inside. Not even bothering to see where he was, Damon scooped the little dog up and scolded him. A scream made him look up from his puppy. A teenage girl was staring at him, her glare angry and surprised. A second later, another girl came out of a stall. Damon suppressed a gasp as he realized where he was. The girl's bathroom. He was about to run out of it when a fat man intercepted him.

• Young man, you are in a lot of trouble. - The guy told him.

With an eye roll, Damon followed the man out of the bathroom. He thought he would want to tear the little puppy's throat out, but somehow he couldn't seem to get mad at him. With his blue eyes and furry face, there was no way to get angry at him. He petted Lazuli's head, smiling. He was kind of liking his canine companion. Making a mental note to thank Elena later, the vampire hugged Lazuli closer. He would never have imagined that he would ever like a pet.

He was led to a tiny, oppressive corridor, which brought him to a tiny, oppressive room, That part of the building was completely different from the ample room that served as the store. Damon sighed, realizing that he was being taken to see the manager. Every time he got into trouble he was brought to see the manager, but he could never figure out why. In his experience, talking to the manager did as much good as talking to the cashier.

His escort knocked on the door, giving Damon an angry and annoyed glare. He obviously had somewhere better to be than there. A grunt told them both to go in. The man in charge of Damon opened the door and they took a step in. A well groomed man sat behind a stupidly big wooden desk, his hands intertwined. He nodded towards the other man, who hid his smile as he left. Damon eased himself on the chair, his eyes locked on the man.

• Well, Mr.… - He started, looking at Damon.

• Salvatore, Damon Salvatore.

• You seem to be in a lot of trouble, invading a girl's bathroom and getting into a fight. - He said, looking at the vampire with a stern glare. - What shall we do with you?

Author's Note: What do you think will happen? If you have any suggestions, please feel free to review and/or message me!