ย ย ย regardless of which path the two were to venture down, this interaction was going to get maliciously violent eventually.ย minnie has known that since they crossed the line of banter into genuine aggravation.ย and of course, ๐๐๐ ๐๐ ๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐โ๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐โ just sprinkle in the right words, poke at the correct soft spots, leave just enough to be desired that the targetโs mind begins to work fill in the blanks for her.ย damon has done just that, and now he has had enough.ย no game is being played any longer ; spoiled is the atmosphere around them now, made obvious in more ways than one.
ย ย ย ๐ ๐๐ฉ๐๐๐ง๐๐ฃ๐. ย ๐๐ฉ ๐๐ก๐ก ๐๐ค๐ข๐๐จ ๐๐๐๐ ๐ฉ๐ค ๐ ๐๐ฉ๐๐๐ง๐๐ฃ๐.ย held under a different situation she would be rolling her eyes, shaking her head at how everything always manages to come back to one infamous doppelganger.ย maybe the world really does revolve around her.ย minnie doesnโt fight, doesnโt squirm when her body thuds into the door, head bouncing quite unpleasantly off the wood.ย to kill damon would require about as much effort as it would for her little fingers to flip the page of a bookโ she is choosing not to fight back.ย especially now that he has shared what has been crawling beneath the surface of his skin, responsible for his foul mood.
ย ย ย at last the desire to best and defeat is relinquished.ย disappointment sweeps across her features, wiping away anything and everything that had previously lingered.ย guilt swirls ever so briefly in the pit of her stomach, but she has nothing to feel guilty for.ย right?ย in an attempt to communicate the change that has occurred her head cranes back and she looks at him โ but he has already turned away.ย and before she knows it she is released.ย slowly does she back away from the door, merely watching him silently for a moment.
ย ย ย everything must digest, and she must organize her thoughts before continuing to speak.ย a moment feels like an hour as they stand there, only the sound of their breathing filling the room, and her fingers idly fiddle with each other.ย once she is finally ready to shatter the peace, she sighs.
ย ย ย โ๐ ๐๐ ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐,โ is the first thing to, defiantly, leave her lips.ย ย โand i think you know that.ย because if i was like her, i would have told you her secret forty years ago.ย i didnโt, because she is my friend, and i donโt betray my friends.ย and i donโt pretend to care about peopleโ at least not for decades.ย what do i gain from stringing somebody along for so many years?ย that would be cruel.โย to say she cannot be cruel would be a lie, but not when it comes to friends and family.ย no ;ย ๐ฉ๐๐ค๐จ๐ ๐๐ง๐ ๐ฉ๐๐ ๐ฅ๐๐ค๐ฅ๐ก๐ ๐จ๐๐ ๐ฌ๐ค๐ช๐ก๐ ๐ก๐๐ฎ ๐๐ค๐ฌ๐ฃ ๐๐๐ง ๐ก๐๐๐ ๐๐ค๐ง.
ย ย ย โwhyโฆโย voice quiet, she pauses and her lips purse.ย how to go on, how to go onโฆย ย โwhy are you still angry at me for keeping her whereabouts from you?ย why are you still so hung up on her?ย sheโs horrible to you!ย to push away probably the only friend you have on this earth in the name of the woman who has been ๐๐ผ๐๐ถ๐ป๐ด ๐๐ถ๐๐ต ๐๐ผ๐ ๐ณ๐ผ๐ฟ ๐ผ๐๐ฒ๐ฟ ๐ฎ ๐ฐ๐ฒ๐ป๐๐๐ฟ๐ sure does sound idiotic if you ask me, damon.ย you may want to reconsider ourย โfinishedโ status.ย unless you want to be even lonelier than you clearly already are.ย and without me, who are you going to put all the blame onto?โ
oh, how her name curses the air,ย kindles the slow burn. the same name that once had meant everything to the man... that inspired the only hope in this eternal life,ย that kept him going each and every one of its endless days. k a t h e r i n e . who knew his love could mutate into such a loathing as this?
well, it was one thing for her to disturb his thoughts, another to hear minerva speak of her. she rambles with agitation, on and on. this was a conversation theyโd had before, these sentiments long shared already โ among them her disdain for his and katherineโs relationship, her disdain for him being angry, yadda-yadda... but damon was more than angry. he was hurt, and not solely about their deceit, for this wasnโt only about katherine.
โto push away probably the only FRIEND you have...โ
friend. at the word, his mind ceases to listen, for it has become overrun with an old memory, one decades into the past; these were the days of extreme debauchery โย of hell only an emotionless vampire, rampant in a city that never sleeps, could raise. damon was brutal and undiscriminating in his killings.ย hedonism, tenfold. bring into play the image of two, the scent of blood and smoke heavy on their clothes... which are discarded on the floor. their kisses rough, and in time would share a sweet reluctance. this was him, and minerva. sheโs unmistakable. her face, her body... he shakes himself from recollecting any further, absent eyes veering to the floor.ย
how close had he come, in those years of numbness, to feeling everything again? to flipping the switch? how close had he come to allowing himself to love, allowing himself to believe that katherine was never coming back... and ultimately, becoming at peace with that? and yet, he clung to that illusion and minerva let him, despite knowing the truth. and the truth was, that katherine was out there. avoiding him,ย not giving a damn about him, while he spent his days in some lifeless misery over aย girl, burying any semblance of emotion he had for the one right in front of him. how different would things have been had she told him then?ย
โ ๐ข ๐ฐ๐๐ฌ ๐๐ก๐๐ฌ๐ข๐ง๐ ๐ ๐ฉ๐ข๐ฉ๐-๐๐ซ๐๐๐ฆ ๐ฐ๐ก๐ข๐ฅ๐ ๐ฒ๐จ๐ฎ ๐ฌ๐ญ๐จ๐จ๐ ๐๐๐ฌ๐ข๐๐ ๐ฆ๐, ๐ ๐ฐ๐ข๐ญ๐ง๐๐ฌ๐ฌ ๐ญ๐จ ๐ข๐ญ ๐๐ฅ๐ฅ.โ damon starts, now a calmness in his low voice as his body turns to lean against the entryโs archway to the drawing room. โ ๐ญ๐๐ฅ๐ฅ ๐ฒ๐จ๐ฎ ๐ฐ๐ก๐๐ญ, ๐ฆ๐ข๐ง. ๐ข'๐ฅ๐ฅ ๐ ๐ข๐ฏ๐ ๐ฒ๐จ๐ฎ ๐จ๐ง๐ ๐ฅ๐๐ฌ๐ญ ๐ฌ๐ก๐จ๐ญ ๐๐ญ ๐ญ๐๐ฅ๐ฅ๐ข๐ง๐ ๐ญ๐ก๐ ๐ญ๐ซ๐ฎ๐ญ๐ก. ๐ฐ๐๐ฌ ๐ข๐ญ ๐ซ๐๐๐ฅ๐ฅ๐ฒย ๐ง๐จ๐ญ ๐ฒ๐จ๐ฎ๐ซ ๐ฌ๐๐๐ซ๐๐ญ ๐ญ๐จ ๐ฌ๐ก๐๐ซ๐,โ he looks back to her, cool blue orbs gluing upon hers. thereโs a split second where he hesitates, everything locking up as though to stop him. but what was there to lose?ย everything was falling apart. all heโd known, foreign. gone. so just say it. a breath fills wary lungs โย โ ๐จ๐ซ ๐๐ข๐ ๐ฒ๐จ๐ฎ ๐ฃ๐ฎ๐ฌ๐ญ ๐ง๐จ๐ญ ๐ฐ๐๐ง๐ญย ๐ฆ๐ ๐ญ๐จ ๐ค๐ง๐จ๐ฐ?ย โ