After having washed my hands twice by decree of Damon on the basis of my "contamination", we are now in the dining area situating ourselves along the oak table while Mrs. Black brings out an assortment of Italian foods. The aroma has fully wafted itself into the room, and I can feel my mouth beginning to water. Damon guides me to the opposite side of the table and stands in front of the chair I can only assume to be the one he's so kindly assigned to me. I walk up but when he doesn't move I think he's actually going to pull my chair out for me. I feel a small smile about to emerge, until he ruins it.

"Aren't you going to sit down?" He commands more so than asks.

I scoff as I pull out my chair, I should've known better. He sits next to me then grabs the fabric napkin before him, clutching it aggressively. He looks straight ahead, not really seeing though. I scoot closer next to him and lean in towards his ear.

"It was just a peck on the hand, there's no need to be so sour." I try to say as delicately as I can, knowing I'm skating on thin ice.

His grip tightens further, "Oh yes there is. And in that case, lemons are as sweet as sugar compared to me right now."

"Your poor taste buds."

His lips quirk up slightly and I can feel his muscles loosen beneath me. His lips part with the ghost of a snarky reply that will never come, because his dad had just burst into the room.

"Let's eat! I've been waiting all night Cassie!"

"You can sit at the end of the table with an empty plate if you want?" She quickly responds.

"Ah, but what a waste of your hard work that would be!" He booms while laughing before he pulls her into a kiss.

And not just any kiss. He bends her back completely, keeping her balanced with his large hand in the middle of her back. She throws an oven-mitted hand into the air. I smile before I glance over at Damon who is laying limp, forehead resting against the table surface, a look of disgust plastered across his face.

"Mom, dad, for the love of God..."

I laugh loudly, covering my mouth with the back of my hand.

"What'd I miss?" a voice from the hallway asks.

Carter strolls in, one hand in his pants pocket. I can feel the table shift as Damon raises his head. Warmth hits my left palm as Damon's hand grasps mine. His grip tightens and I wince. He immediately releases me and looks down at his palm before his eyes reach mine. There's a hint of pain hiding behind his green layers as he mouths 'sorry' to me. I want to ask him what's wrong, but it'll have to wait since we're starting to eat.

Once everybody receives their plate of food and takes their first bites, the conversation strikes up.

"So, Scarlett, how'd you and Damon meet?" Cassie asks.

"Mom, please—,"

I cut him off, "well, he kind of ran into me in the hallway."

Damon bites into a piece of bread and whispers, "Funny, I remember it differently, clutz."

I nudge him in the ribs indiscreetly while still talking to his mother. He coughs, and then digs his heel into my foot in return. I turn and give him the best knock-it-off smile I can manage. He just smirks and continues eating.

"So you're graduating soon with Damon right? I do hope you two will be able to maintain a solid relationship even while parted at college."

Damon chokes but quickly follows, "We're not in a relationship mom. I've already explained this to you."

"Yeah and leaving soon is a big factor towards us not wanting to get too involved," I add trying to make the situation lighthearted, but every word that leaves my mouth feels like ice.

"By the way, Scarlett, what do you plan on doing in the future? What are your aspirations, dreams?" Derrick asks.

"Well, I eventually want to become an Anesthesiologist, but I haven't decided what I want to major in yet since I can basically choose anything I want."

"Very true, you've got yourself a high roller son," he winks at Damon.

"I haven't 'got' myself anything."

"What else makes you up? What are your interests, hobbies?" Carter finally joins the conversation.

"Uh, well, I love art. All forms of it. I typically like spending my nights reading a book—I'm currently reading Will Grayson, Will Grayson—and watching Chopped, or hanging out with my best friend Rachel. I have an abnormal obsession with Harry Potter and the Disney princess Ariel. I absolutely despise romantic movies, Titanic being the only exception. Some romantic comedies are okay though, like Crazy, Stupid, Love."

I realize I'm rambling and shut my mouth. The whole table is watching me and I can feel my cheeks warming up. Carter places his forefinger and thumb against his bottom lip.

"Intriguing," he mumbles.

My body stiffens. Something about Carter just throws me off and I don't like it. His face portrays amused warmth, but his dark eyes are cold. I look away.

"Yeah," I reply lowly.

The wooden floor squeaks as chair legs move abruptly against it. Damon is standing, fists clenching and relaxing periodically.

"If you guys don't mind, I think I'll go show our guest the backyard," his sharp tone slices through the room.

Damon grabs my hand and next thing I know I'm being yanked towards the hallway. I mutter incoherent refusals and an apology to his family before I'm dragged down the hallway to a transparent sliding door. Once we're on the deck, Damon paces towards the wooden railing.

"What the hell was—?"

My question is cut off by the sound of shattering glass as Damon's fist breaks through a once potted plant on the ledge. Pieces clatter against the ground and soil spills over the edges. I run up to him and grab his right palm.

"Thank goodness you're not bleeding, but your hand is pretty dirty."

"He just makes me so mad!" He almost screams, "With his conniving and manipulative poise, pretending like he's not trying to make a pass at you while I'm right there in the fucking room. Oh but he would know all about that, the bastard."

I shrink back slightly by his tone, but I compose myself and place my fingers against is forearm. He finally makes eye contact with me, and I can see the blazing hatred dancing in his eyes.

"What happened between you two?" I ask softly.

His eyelids flutter shut while his nostrils flare from inhaling. He tilts his head back and a breeze blows through his hair. Resting his elbows against the railing, he opens his eyes to watch the stars.

"It started about three years ago. I won't say it began because there was no indication that it was coming, it just started. He became obsessed with ruining my life, for absolutely no reason. To this day I still don't have an explanation why. He started with school, destroying my reputation there through splitting my friends against me with incessant and ridiculous rumors. But that, I could deal with, it wasn't fun, but it was tolerable. What was intolerable, and unforgivable, is what he did next. Out of all the miserable things, it was the worst."

Damon pauses and smashes a broken piece of pottery on the ground with his toe. At first, I think he's trying to recollect his thoughts, but, with the thinned strain of his lips, I realize that it is the recollection itself that's opening old scars and he needed to take a moment.

"Before I came here, I had a girlfriend. I had been dating her for a little less than a year, and I honestly thought I loved her. I had ignorant thoughts of us growing up together and everything. However, I was dating her during Carter's end-all game; he realized that killing my reputation wasn't working as fluidly, so he chose a different route. He went after her, seducing her and tons of other bullshit. I noticed she'd been acting funny, so I tried to talk to her about it, but she wouldn't budge.

Then, one day, I get home late from school, and I enter my room to find him screwing my girlfriend on my bed."

I involuntarily place my hand over my mouth; I can't help it. I never would've guessed Carter was that cold-hearted or revolting? I watch Damon's reactions as he morphs from angry to boiling in a millisecond.

"I broke up with her and haven't had a second thought about it, because, what's the point of having a serious relationship if they just go screw you over by screwing your brother eventually? Ever since then I've completely disowned Carter as a brother and haven't had anything to do with him."

I want to say words of reasoning or comfort, something to put Damon's mind at ease and maybe help him get back onto the right track with his brother; but I know that's not what he needs right now, so instead I say, "Fuck him."

Damon laughs loudly, bending over and placing his hands on his knees.

"That wasn't the response I was expecting from you, but I love it."

He straightens himself and turns towards me. His eyes are gleaming and all evidence of his bad mood has vanished. He pulls me into his side by my waist. A strand of my hair catches onto his button, so he carefully untangles it before brushing it back along with the rest of my hair. He casually moves his hand up to the base of my ear before placing a light kiss onto my forehead. Then he stretches out his neck as he looks to the night sky.

"I'm going to tell you something I haven't told anyone before," he says.

"Okay."

"I love the stars," he says with wonder.

"How come?" I ask.

"Oh, everything I suppose: their complexity, their abundance, their luminance. That even though blue signals cold to us, for them it's unearthly hot. The beauty they have in death and rebirth. The way they make you feel when you watch them, as if all your problems are stripped bare of your body. Exedra, exedra," he pauses, "Exedra."

I stare mesmerized at the complex boy in front of me. If I hadn't already, I finally have realized that there is so much more to Damon than just your typical punk: so many covered edges, and so many mysteries just waiting to be discovered.

I lean up onto my toes and place a kiss on his cheek. He looks accordingly towards me thereafter, as if wondering why I just did that.

"I think that's charming, and I want to know more," I say smiling.

He gives me a crooked smile back, "All in due time, darling," he drawls before walking away.

Soon after, the dinner party is over and it's time to leave. I say goodbye to Damon's parents before he walks me to the door and says a quick "see you later" and walks up the stairs. I exaggeratedly roll my eyes while he's not looking, then open the large door to leave. I make it halfway down the driveway before I hear the door behind me creak open. I stop, knowing Damon finally got the sense to walk me out to my car.

"Evening, Scarlett," I hear Carter's voice resonate deeply.