So I've been wanting to do this for a while now and I am finally going to give it a go. Straight up, I do not tolerate flames. You have advice and criticism, great. "You suck" and "don't write anymore." Does not count! I want to improve and I know I cannot please everyone. Not my goal. Other than that, please review. I only update based on reviews.

Disclaimer: I do not own The Vampire Diaries or any of its characters. Only my OC's.

Chapter One

I was leaning against the small plane window so I could watch the world below us. Turning my brown eyes upward I could see my mother's soft eyes staring towards me in the reflection. My long slim fingers gripped my phone and pressed the volume higher so I could block out the words she wanted to speak. I know what she wanted to say anyways. The same thing everyone else had said already.

"Are you ok?"

"Do you want to talk about it?"

"I'm here for you."

Letting out a deep sigh, I let my eyes fall and let the music that was blasting in my ears consume me. That was the only release I had at thirty thousand feet in the air. Even with my eyes closed I still see that letter in the small bag at my feet. I could feel its weight in my hands like the moment my mother had handed it to me…

"Aria, are you ready?"

My heart was beating in my chest as I watched a pair dance on stage from behind the curtains. A tall young man stood behind me massaging my shoulders. I looked up at his green eyes with a smile.

"We got this in the bag, Brody." I laughed.

I had been preparing for this moment for many weeks now. Peeking around the red silk curtains I could see my mother smiling and giving me thumbs up. Once the music had ended and the couple on stage had taken their bows, the nerves began to set in. Sliding down into a split, I stretched once more for good measure. Brody shook his head and laughed. But he knew how much this meant to me. I had been dancing for years. My mother sacrificed so much so I could attend this performing arts academy. If Brody and I did well in this performance than we would land a scholarship that would take us to New York once we graduated. That wasn't my true aim though. New York was wonderful, yes. It was the place that dreamers could fight to make their biggest dreams come true. But for now, the place I really wanted to be was Mystic Falls where my big brother was. He had moved away once his wife had died. It was just too hard for him to be near all the memories. He was my best friend.

"You know if we win this we have to go to school in Mystic Falls for awhile right?" Brody questioned as an announcer began our introduction.

"That's kind of the idea." I smiled while running to take my place on stage.

When the music had started my eyes travelled to find my mother. She was my good luck. Every time before a performance we would look at each other and she would nod with a smile of encouragement. But when my eyes found her she was looking at me with distraught. Her delicate hand held her phone close to her face. Her sadness faded from her face once she caught me staring. But I could still see it clear in her eyes.

"Aria, sweetie, we're almost there."

My mother's voice broke me from my memories. Nodding, I tore the headphones from my ears and stuffed them into my bag. Giving her a small smile I moved to lean against her shoulder which she responded too by running her fingers through my long auburn hair. Before I knew it we were in our new home. My mother and I slowly unpacking everything.

"I bet you're excited about tomorrow." My mother, Melody, finally spoke up.

"Yeah, I guess." I whispered. 'I really don't even want to go anymore.' I thought bitterly.

"When were Brody and his family going to be here?"

"Tomorrow. They're going to register his little brother and sister into Mystic Falls High." I said with a shrug.

"Oh yes. That's not too far from your school."

"Yeah well, maybe I'll go to that school instead. I don't know if I want to dance anymore." I sighed and shut one of my dresser drawers a little harder than I intended too

The only reason I really wanted to come to Mystic Falls was so we could be closer to my big brother. Mom loved the idea of being closer to her son. We would have our whole family again. There were many other scholarships I could have gone for that did not lead to Mystic Falls. From what I've heard, not many people really want to come to this small town. How my brother ended up here I would never know. But here we were; discussing school like it was the only thing we were here for. She didn't want to address that giant elephant in the room. The fact that my brother was no longer around. He was dead and his death seemed to take my very passion for the art that I had worked on my whole life.

"Can we not pretend everything is ok?" I hissed quietly.

Her silence immediately made me regret my words. I turned to her with an apologetic gaze which she responded with a smile and a warm embrace.

"I think I'm gonna go see him." I muttered in her shoulder. "Do you want to come with me?"

I could see the answer in her eyes. The pain was clear. I had lost a brother but she had lost her son. They say that hardest thing is too burry your own children. That you should not outlive them.

"I won't be too long, ok?"

I pulled on a soft blue wool jacket as I bounced down the stone steps of our porch.

"Aria!"

My mom raced down after and placed a small envelope in my hands. I could see my name written on the front in his hand writing. I had told her that I did not want to read it. That I may never want too. But I could tell she was hoping that my little trip would change my mind. I stuffed in my pockets and walked off. I honestly had no words to say. What do you say in these situations? There was no basic guide to family death conversations. I giggled at the thought and shook my head. The cemetery was in my view a lot faster than I thought it would.

Mystic Fall Cemetery

I don't know how long I stared at the sign. I could not get myself to walk forward. A part of me was still hoping that this was all a dream and I was going to wake up soon. If I moved from this spot and saw his headstone than those hopes would come crashing down and I would never wake up from reality. Eventually my feet began to carry me towards where his resting place was. But once I was close enough I was soon frozen in place from the sound of talking. It was a man's voice. I could hardly see him from where I was standing.

"All you're left with is a stone with a birth date on it…which I'm sure is wrong."

I smiled at his comment and slowly took a few steps closer while I watched the man pace back a forth saying a few more things that I could not make out. I stopped once I was close enough to see him and the headstone he was facing. His dark black hair shifted in the wind while he took a seat with a heavy sigh.

"I shouldn't even be here…I didn't get the girl…but I'm stuck babysitting…you owe me."

There was a lot of pain in his voice and I suddenly felt horrible being where I was. My resolve was fading so I started to take a step back but froze when I snapped a twig beneath my shoe.

"It's rude to stare you know." The man spoke turning half his face towards me.

"Did you know him?" I spoke suddenly.

I cursed myself internally and took a few steps closer. This was really awkward.

"He was a friend." The man shrugged his broad shoulders and took a swig of the bottle he held firmly in his grasp.

I nodded and took a seat next to him. There was a heavy silence between us and I almost started to leave but stopped at the weight of the letter that was still on my pocket.

"Did you?" He questioned.

"I'm sorry?"

"Know him."

I nodded slowly.

"He's my brother…was…" I whispered quietly. I was so quiet I didn't even know if he would be able to hear it but his surprised expression told me otherwise. I could see his face now. He was a very attractive man. Bright blue eyes, with dark hair and a strong face.

"You never told me you had little sister, dick." The man mused with shake of his head.

"'Cause if I told you, you might have tried something." I said lowering my voice in a way that might have sounded like my brother. "That's what he always said to his friends."

The man laughed and handed me his bottle which I took a small sip from. I coughed from the bitter taste.

"Not a heavy drinker? What's your name?" He asked.

"Aria Saltzman." I declared while handing him his bottle back."Yours?"

"Damon Salvatore." He raised a brow and kissed the hand that gave him the bottle.

He rose from his seat and placed the almost empty bottle near the grave and I couldn't help but smile. As much as I loved my brother, he loved his alcohol. A soft breeze made the hairs on the back of my neck stand on end and a sudden familiar presence filled me. My eyes closed trying to embrace it in while I could.

"I take it you just got to town. I'm sure I would have seen you." Damon said with a smug grin.

Heat rose to my face as I let out a small laugh. Was it even right for me to be laughing right now?

"My mom and I just moved here. We were planning on moving here even before…"But I couldn't finish that thought and Damon only nodded in understanding.

"Well, I'll be seeing you around then."

It was more of a statement than anything. It wasn't one of those comments that were 'hey maybe I'll see you around.' Not it was a definite. I could hear it in his tone. He was a very confident person. Either way, since he was a friend of my brother then he was already someone that I could trust. Even though meeting each other at said brother's grave site was a little out of the ordinary.

"I guess you will." I finally stated with a soft smile.

Damon grinned and began to walk away. My smile fell slightly when that familiar breeze returned.

Look after her Buddy…

The words fell on the wind like a ghostly whisper and I was questioning whether or not it was just my imagination. Was it something I wanted to hear so much that I had? My hand reached for the letter in my pocket. My resolve to tear it open was broken by a deep strong voice.

"You don't think I'm going to let you walk out of a cemetery alone do you?"

I jumped from surprise. I thought he was already gone. "Like anything bad happens here in Mystic Falls." I scoffed while releasing the paper that seemed to weigh a hundred pounds.

Damon laughed and stared at Ric's headstone. "You never know." He commented while lifting his brows.

A/N: Well there you have it! I'm starting this fic from season 4x02…I'm really tired of seeing Damon not 'get the girl.' You know? Depressing X_X haha. Anyways, please review. I really won't continue this if it doesn't get enough reviews. So does this seem worth it so far to you? Damon is going to be kind of difficult to write. I know it. I want to keep him in character as possible. So the challenge is going to be fun! Anyways! Review!