everyonelives | some roads you really fly

( Damon's ready. He shows up an hour before opening up anyway, so when he's opening up even earlier, he's even earlier. He's not dressed to the nines Damon style, but a t-shirt and still too expensive pants. He has a great closer, so there's very little he needs to do.

He hasn't gotten the chance to really speak to Lydia before all Hell broke loose and everyone went their separate ways. And, then there was Stiles and graduation. From what he's heard, she has Salvatore level codependence when it comes to Stiles, but he's be worried about Elena, too. Best not to make too many parallels with that.

She catches him a bottle in so of course he says he'll open up early with his stipulation being, he be there.

Damon meets her at the front door, unlocking it. He swings the door wide open and lets her in. )

Good morning. I like your Sunday best.

( Little does he know, Lydia is always on her best. )

Thank you.

[She steps inside into the empty restaurant, scanning the room just to be sure before turning back to him.]

And thank you for this. And for going to get Derek.

[Another pause as she takes a deep breath.]

I owed you a few thank yous.

You don't owe me anything. But, I'll take what you think is owed.

( He closes the door behind them, locking it again. )

Drink?

[She nods. She almost needs it, given how everything's gone this weekend. She moves to slide up onto one of the barstools, watching him as he does.]

I heard the graduation went well. Does it seem like we got all of them?

All of the out-of-towners.

( Except for Mickey. Now is not the time to talk about Mickey. While he should be home handling Mickey, Stefan is there as his proxy.

It's the morning, so -- he goes for a screw driver, throwing ice in the glass, pouring vodka and then orange juice. )

Graduation was long, uneventful, and safe. Went off without a single hitch. How's your friend, Stiles? Rediscovering sunlight?

( He sets down her drink. )

[She nods. He's definitely figuring things out.]

Caroline - she seems good at this. She's going to be able to teach him, right?

[Damon knows these people better than she does, and while she likes Caroline, she wants to be sure that Stiles is in good hands.]

If Caroline can't, I'd worry. ( But. ) She can. There is not a task Caroline is not up to - preposition and all.

( He pulls whiskey from the well, filling his own glass, setting that on the bar. )

Stiles is in the best hands. Annoyingly, capable and thorough hands.

( He even says it with a smile. )

How are you taking everything? This is a lot at once.

I'm ... managing.

[It definitely was a lot though, so she's not great. She's grateful that Stiles is alive now, but there was a very long time when he was dead, and she's not going to forget that anytime soon.]

When you scream for someone you know, it sticks with you more than a stranger. You feel a lot more like it's your fault, even though you're a harbinger not an executioner. That doesn't really make it any easier.

[She pulls the glass closer, taking a hefty sip.]

What is it like? Screaming for someone?

( He can only imagine. )

[It's hard to explain. She's tried, in the past, but it's more something you have to experience.]

It used to be really bad where I would disassociate and wake up on the other side of town where the murder happened and not know how I got there, but that was more when I didn't know what I was. Now ... it starts with sounds or feelings. It's like pieces of a puzzle where half the box has been knocked to the floor and you don't find the really important pieces until it's too late.

[She makes a face.]

The scream itself just builds over time, until I feel like it's the only thing I can do. That's another thing that I've managed to get a better handle on, but if I'm stuck in a bad situation or really stressed, I can't help it.

When did you find out what you were?

( He wants Lydia to talk, one to be able to because she's going through a lot, but also because Damon is interested. They can speak openly now. About what they are, what's happened. He even opened his bar up for her group. )

I was seventeen. I got bit by an alpha werewolf. Banshees are immune, so it didn't change anything about me that didn't already exist but it ... woke up that part of me.

[She shrugs.]

My grandmother was a banshee. I was going to wake up eventually. Peter just sped up the process. And then he used me to come back from the dead which was great and totally not traumatizing at all.

[She lies, it was.]

Well, I can't talk about using someone underage, but, I did not use her to drag me back from Hell.

( Also, not the -- best topic. He takes his own healthy swig. )

I wasn't always the specimen of hardwork and charm you see before you. Well, I'm all charm. That never changed.

Oh, I've heard.

[While Allison's been trying to manage a hunter army, Lydia's been doing her best to read up on the big names. While the Salvatores weren't relevant before this Mystic Falls adventure, she did a lot of listening.]

You Salvatore boys have quite the history.

That's us. Walking history. A lot I'm not proud of. A lot -- I stand by. Some I had no choice in.

( Everything Damon Salvatore. )

I'll explain anything.

[She shakes her head.]

Not that it doesn't matter, because I'm sure it does and will, but since I'm going to be sticking around for a while, I'd rather not start off learning to dislike my neighbors.

[It just sets things off on the wrong foot.]

Just ... I'm trying to stay away from bad guys. That isn't what this is, right?

( Well, first, she's sticking around. That is useful information. )

That is not what this is. That's not me anymore. Do I act rashly. Am I a vampire? ( Yeah. ) I don't know what pack rules are, but, when people need to be dead, I don't hesitate. If that gives you pause...

[She shakes her head. She didn't like it when she was a teenager but over the years, it's become clearer that certain problems aren't going to go away unless you take the heavier approach.

It's not like she hasn't done the same.]

No. Lately it's been the kind of thing we've needed.

That's the worst of it. I'll even try to be a team player again. The -- hunter, I should've thought him through. Now he's my responsibility. But, that doesn't mean I want him to suffer.

( To have free will, on the other hand... )

You're sticking around.

[She nods.]

Stiles is staying to learn from Caroline so I'm at least going to stick around. Moral support.

[There's going to wind up being more of them, but Lydia doesn't know that yet.]

I thought you were coming back from a work trip.

( Take note, he's not sounding disappointed. )

Not my work.

[Stiles' work. Which might not have been entirely clear at the time.]

And right now MIT is on summer break so I don't have to teach any classes. I just have to work on my dissertation and that I can do from anywhere.

That you can. Does... that mean you'll have time for me to take you out properly? In an establishment I don't own?

( Or, here. Let's not like, but he'd like to drive her into Maryland or even into a nearby city. Maybe between here and Whittemore for closeness and eateries. )

[She leans forward, making like she's going to say something, when her tablet comes to life, featuring Isaac's face on the caller ID.

She glances down, and then glances up at Damon again.]

I'll think about it.

[Because she may be older and somewhat wiser, but she can still play hard to get.

And with that, she will answer the video call and head off to one of the tables where they'll probably be holding their little conference.]

Hi, Isaac.

[And they'll chat amongst themselves about nothing important while they're waiting for the rest to show up.]

( She'll think about it. That's a yes.

About the same time, Derek pulls up into the back parking lot, pulling the break. )

We're early.

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