the night of the comet;
❛ PORCELAIN DOLL ❜
❝ I like your curls ❞

▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬

"What do you know about Stefan's brother? Damon."

Elena seemed startled by both the question and her sister's sudden presence in the doorway of her room. She closed her diary and looked at Regina with her mouth open in confusion. She was startled by the fact that Regina even knew who Damon was since she only met him a couple of hours prior.

"Not much." Elena shrugged and tried to appear casual by leaning in her chair. "I know that he's older and that they spent a lot of time apart." She tilted her head and swallowed. "Why?"

Regina narrowed her eyes at the older girl. She knew that she would only get annoying about him driving her home so she did not dare to mention it. She could not handle her whining.

"No reason." She shook her head. "I just bumped into him at the Mystic Grill yesterday."

Elena had no clue that Regina even left the house since Vicki's attack other than when she went to school the day before. She felt too guilty for not watching what her sister was doing so she was not focused enough to catch her lie.

The older Gilbert opened her mouth to say something but Regina was already out of the door. Elena let out a heavy sigh and covered her face with the palms of her hands. Sometimes she was too worried about Jeremy that she forgot to check up on her sister. She liked to convince herself that it was because Regina was stronger and more mature than both her and Jeremy combined. That never helped with her guilt, though.

Regina walked back into her room where Madelaine was laying on her bed on her stomach. She raised an eyebrow when Regina shut her bedroom door and let out a heavy and dramatic sigh.

"She doesn't know anything useful about the hot older Salvatore?" Madelaine guessed at the annoyed look on Regina's face.

Regina threw herself onto her bed and let the pillow swallow her face to muffle her groan. She lifted her head to see an amused look on Madelaine's face.

"Of course she doesn't know anything. It doesn't concern her so why should she care?" Regina rolled her eyes. Elena had the habit of being oblivious and too caught up in her own world to care about anything else.

Madelaine shrugged. "Well, I'm sure you'll see him again. It's a small town. He's bound to appear sometime." She sat up. "I heard that Vicki got out of the hospital this morning."

"Really?" Regina's eyebrows raised in surprise. "She's better already?"

"Clearly." Madelaine said in a nonchalant manner. "They probably just had to make sure she didn't have rabies or something."

Regina snorted at her words and shook her head. She felt a little bad for laughing. "Shut up."

"We should get going..." Madelaine trailed off. She could read Regina pretty well so she knew that she did not have the social energy to watch the comet with everyone. She looked absolutely drained. "Or we can stay in if you want?"

Regina grimaced. She knew that Madelaine did not want to do that. She was just being a good friend and Regina wanted to be one too so she denied not wanting to go out.

"I'm fine." Regina plastered on a fake smile. "Besides, I did my make-up way too good to stay in now."

It was true. Her make-up turned out better than usual and she looked great despite the fact that she let her naturally curly hair (which she was never a fan of) run wild and only wore a pair of jeans and a simple red shirt.

Madelaine nodded with a genuine smile on her face. She missed how insincere her friend was being because she wasn't even looking at her face. She was too busy putting her shoes on. "That's true. You can't miss the opportunity to be seen by Damon."

"Yeah. I wouldn't want to do that." Regina playfully rolled her eyes and got off her bed to put shoes on. She grabbed her hand from a chair in the corner of her room and checked the time before putting her phone in the pocket of her black jeans. "Let's go. Bonnie is supposed to drive us and she'll be here soon."

▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬

Madelaine, Matt, Regina, Bonnie, Tyler, Elena, Caroline and Archie gathered with other people in Mystic Falls in the park in front of the Mystic Grill. Almost everyone had candles in their hands to light up the park.

Regina could not help but look at Caroline in an envious manner. She was wearing a soft yellow sundress which complimented her bright personality and her blonde hair was made out of perfect waves.

Elena walked away a few feet from them to have a quiet talk with Stefan and Regina watched them curiously.

She was not a fan of Stefan. When he first walked into Elena's life, she seemed happier than ever but then he seemed far too hot and cold for her liking. Elena deserved a guy who knew what he wanted.

"Stop staring."

Regina snapped her eyes away from Elena and Stefan at Tyler's harsh words. She expected him to be looking at her but his eyes were piercing through Matt like knives.

"She moved on. You should too." Tyler added. Regina instantly wished she stayed home after the awkward silence settled in.

She agreed with Tyler. Elena dumped Matt months ago. He had to move on and get his shit together. Seeing her with Stefan might just do the trick. But no matter how true Tyler's words were, the truth must have hurt.

"You didn't tell me that you had a brother. Regina met him but she didn't..."

Stefan drowned out the rest of Elena's words. His eyes widened and he turned around to look at Regina.

Regina stood there with a small forced smile and a pounding heart, a storm in her eyes that looked as if it was ready to break out. She kept her eyes on the ground, lost in thought.

Elena told him a lot about her. It was clear that she adored her little sister by the smile on her face when she talked about her. He knew that she was sweet, gentle and a little closed-off. That made her a perfect victim for Damon to manipulate.

The mere thought of that happening made his heartbeat pick up. He knew that he had to keep an eye out for Regina if he couldn't keep an eye out for Damon.

▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬

"Hey, has anyone seen Vicki?" Jeremy asked as he walked up to their table in the Mystic Grill.

Regina shook her head and Tyler snapped, "You're her stalker. You tell us."

"I can't find her." Jeremy said, not even responding to the taunting. He frantically looked around in hopes of catching sight of the girl.

Tyler shrugged. "She probably found someone else to party with. Sorry, pill pusher, you've been replaced."

Regina's breath hitched at the nickname.

"Pill pusher?" She and Elena repeated in sync. They narrowed their eyes on Tyler. Everyone shared worried looks.

The Gilbert sisters were undoubtedly different but the main thing they had in common was how protective they were when it came to Jeremy.

"Ask him." Tyler looked Regina dead in the eye and nodded in Jeremy's direction.

Jeremy glared at him, losing his patience already. "You really wanna do this right now?"

Elena looked at him with her mouth open in disbelief. "Are you dealing?"

"She's never gonna go for you."

Jeremy's eyes flew from Elena's shocked expression to Tyler. He had enough of his enormous ego and his belief that he held so much power over him.

"She already did. Over and over and over again."

Regina eyebrows raised in shock. What the fuck?

Tyler scoffed. "Yeah, right."

"You slept with Vicki Donovan?" Madelaine asked Jeremy with wide eyes.

Caroline tilted her head and let out a breathy laugh. "Vicki Donovan slept with you?"

For Regina, it was not shocking because she thought Vicki was better than Jeremy. She wasn't. But Vicki was eighteen and ready to graduate while Jeremy was fifteen. It was weird.

"There's no way." Tyler scoffed.

"Yeah." Jeremy nodded with a cruel twist in his tone. He wanted Tyler to snap. "I didn't even have to force her into it."

Regina's blood ran cold and she shared a stunned look with Madelaine.

That got Matt's attention. He glared at his best friend and asked, "What the hell is he talking about?"

"Nothing, man." Tyler shook his head. He looked calm despite the accusation that Jeremy threw in his face. "Just ignore it. He's a punk."

"I want all of you to shut up and help me find my sister!" Matt exclaimed.

Bonnie awkwardly muttered, "I'll check the bathroom."

"I'll check the square."

"I'll come with you." Jeremy was ready to follow after Matt when Elena grabbed his arm in order to stop him.

"Oh, no, no, no. You're coming with me."

Regina sighed and followed her siblings to the entrance of the Mystic Grill where she was sure that Elena was about to give Jeremy a lecture. She was also sure that he was going to ignore that lecture.

"So that's your game now?" Elena asked him in a hushed tone. "Dealing?"

Jeremy huffed. "No, I'm not dealing!" He exclaimed, causing Regina to look around to see if anyone was listening. Fortunately, everyone was too busy to listen to another Gilbert argument.

"Look, I'm sick of the tough-love speech, Jer. It's cleary having no impact──"

"You and Jenna, between the two of you it's not──"

"Shut up!" Regina whisper-shouted as the two continued to repeatedly cut each other off. "Elena, this is not the time nor place to have this talk." She turned to Jeremy. "Jer, I don't give you any shit because Jenna and Elena do it enough but you need to chill out. This is a small town and rumors spread pretty easily. You're gonna get yourself locked up. You can get through this if you actually talk to us instead of letting your life fall apart."

"Coming from someone who is so good at talking about her feelings." Jeremy rolled his eyes and walked out.

Regina was left next to Elena with her mouth agape in the entrance of the Mystic Grill. She shook her head and muttered, "I need a drink."

Elena watched her leave in disbelief. She had zero control of her siblings and it was getting exhausting.

▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬

Regina was to notice anything around her. She sat in a booth at the Mystic Grill after she and Madelaine snatched a bottle from the bar and drank it behind the Grill and she threw up all over the bathroom.

She saw Vicki making out with Tyler on the other side of the bar so she didn't bother worrying about her wellbeing.

"Skank." Regina muttered when she looked away from the two making out.

Madelaine, who was not nearly as drunk as Regina, raised an eyebrow. "What? Don't tell me you want the other brother now."

Regina scrunched her face up. "Ew. No. She can't fuck both him and my brother. It's disgusting."

"Yeah, well she was always a skank." Madelaine hummed in agreement. She looked over Regina's shoulder and tilted her head. "Don't look but some hot guy has been staring at us for a while and he's coming over."

Regina's eyebrows furrowed and she turned around just when Damon Salvatore reached their booth. He smirked down at her and then looked at Madelaine.

"Having a good night, ladies?"

"No." Regina told him bluntly. "But seeing you definitely made it better."

Madelaine smirked at her best friend's unusual bold flirting. She looked at Damon and introduced herself.

"It's a pleasure." He nodded at her. "I'm Damon."

"I figured..." She trailed off and let out a breathy chuckle.

Damon observed the coy smile which she wore as her eyes flickered between him and Regina. Then, he looked at the way Regina's face lit up a little when he looked back at her. He listened to her heart (which was usually beating incredibly fast) beat faster when his eyes narrowed and his smirk grew.

"Can I sit?" He asked, although he already knew the answer to that.

"Of course." Regina smiled and scooted in the booth to give him a place to sit beside her.

Damon sat down next to her, leaving little to no space between them. He placed his hand on the booth behind her and her shoulder was pressed against his chest. The proximity made her body grow hot.

"Gina. Maddie." Archie's voice made her tear her eyes away from Damon's. He reached their booth and his eyes immediately fell on how close an unfamiliar guy was sitting next to Regina. "Who are you?" He blurted out without thinking.

"I'm Damon Salvatore."

"Right." Archie narrowed his eyes at him and then looked at Regina. "Do you want me to drive you two home?"

Regina opened her mouth but nothing came out. A part of her wanted Archie to drive her home so she could sleep but the other part of her wanted to stay there with Damon.

Luckily, Madelaine decided for her.

"My head really hurts." She stated in a false tired tone. "But I don't want to ruin Regina's night." She looked at Damon. "Can you drive her home later?"

"Sure." He nodded.

Madelaine looked at Regina. "You want to stay, right?"

The dark haired man next to her observed the way she looked at the teenage boy on his feet in front of them. Her breath hitched the second he arrived and her entire demeanor shifted.

Is that really my only competition? Damon thought with a deadpan look on his face.

"Yeah." Regina eventually stated. "I'm not that tired and Jenna won't mind me coming late. I'll see you at school tomorrow."

"Bye." Madelaine gave her a proud grin and a wink when Damon moved his gaze back to Archie.

"See you." Archie forced a grin. His eyes lingered on Regina and the suspicious man beside her as and then he and Madelaine walked to the entrance where Caroline was waiting.

"I like your curls." Damon told her after a moment of silence. He reached his hand to twirl a curl around his finger. "It suits you much better."

A small smile appeared on Regina's face. The alcohol lost all affect on her but she was slowly getting drunk from Damon's presence alone.

"Thanks." She muttered softly.

"You didn't call me." Damon started but he didn't look too phased. "I can't say that I wasn't disappointed."

Regina shrugged as her smile grew. "I was hoping I'd run into you again so you'd give me a reason to call you."

"Oh, sweetheart." He smirked and shook his head slightly. "Trust me, I can give you plenty of reasons."

She was a little surprised by his blunt flirting. It also made her excited. The thrill of someone that confident and sure of what he wanted being attracted to her... well, that thrill was so much more powerful than the voice in the back of her head which told her to be careful.

▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬

Damon drove her home. Then, she saw that all of the lights were out and made the bold decision to invite him inside.

Regina was a spitfire no matter how calm and collected she wanted to appear. Damon knew that her politeness and sweetness were genuine. Still, there was so much to her than just the good little orphan who refused to voice her emotions out loud.

To a human, Regina was a mystery. But to someone like Damon, she was an open book.

He managed to learn so much about her after watching her for only one week.

As he felt her fingers slip under his shirt while their lips were pressed against each other, he knew it was just her wanting to prove herself. She wanted to seem confident in her actions and didn't want him to think that she was going to regret that tomorrow.

When her cold and shaky fingers touched his warm stomach, he knew that she would, in fact, regret that tomorrow.

Damon pulled away from the kiss and looked down at her as she tried to catch her breath. "I think you should get some sleep."

An adorable crease appeared between her eyebrows as she stared at him in confusion. "Why? I thought you wanted to..." She trailed off with a whisper.

"You're not the one night stand type of girl." He let out a breathy chuckle. "We'll see each other again, don't worry."

Regina blinked in confusion but it quickly melted away and she nodded. "Okay."

"You still have my number?"

"Yeah. I wrote it down."

"Okay." Damon smirked. "Have a good night, sweetheart. Call me if you need anything."

"Good night, Damon."

He carefully opened the doors to her bedroom and made his way outside. Regina walked up to her window and watched him reach the car. He must have felt her gaze on him because he turned around and gave her a wave accompanied by a smirk.

She smiled softly and waved back.

▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬

a/n: he's gonna fuck her up so bad

damon "the smallest man who ever lived" salvatore, ladies and gentlemen!