Bad Girl. by E Z (classic novels to read .TXT) 📕

She found a confidence in herself that she'd never thought she posessed, as she pulled out of his embrace and shot him a wink. "I'll never say it again."

He watched with his mouth open as she flashed a teasing smile, and then began pulling him along. Who was this new Libia? 

They walked through the kitchen, Damon being led in a slight daze. He didn't notice when she stopped walking.

Libia had just turned the doorknob, when Damon bumped into her, and she tripped. Yelping, the door pushed open, and they stumbled out. Instinctivly, Damon wrapped his arms around her, and kept her upright.

She snorted and laughed, causing Damon to grin. "You totally did that on perpose!" She accused, still laughing.

"Hey!" He complained, "I did not!"

A male voice clearing his throat caused Libia to look up, and immediately she realized that they had an audience. She straightened, and Damon's laughter cut short.

"Sorry," Libia blurted, tucking a stand of hair behind her ear.

She contemplated stepping out of Damon's grasp, but decided as his arms tensed around her that she should stay put. His parents sat at a round outdoor table, across from Jack and Carol, who sipped silently at their lemonade.

Plastering a smile across her face, Damon's mother gestured to the porch swing against the edge of the ledge beside them. Libia hesitated to move, frozen by the stare of Damon's father, who was clearly dissaproving of her. His eyes, so similar to Damon's cut into her skin. Damon managed to drag her along, settling them down on the porch swing. She suddenly wished that she had taken up Damon's offer to go out to eat, just the four of them. 

"Well, Libia, tell us about yourself," Damon's father said, and Libia heard a slightly demanding tone. 

"Ah...well what would you like to know?"

"Grades?" He immediately suggested, and it sounded a bit rude.

Despite her apprehension, she hesitantly answered the question. "I...I get straight A's in all classes."

"Wow!" Carol piped up, smiling. "Adorable, and smart!"

Libia felt her ears heat up. She worked hard to keep her mom from worrying about her. She knew that if her grades fell, her mom would be dissapointed. She hated disappointing her mother.

"What about career?" Damon's mother piped up.

At this, Libia let out a hesitant laugh. "I'm working a part time job at a grocery store at the moment. Career choices...are a little scattered right now." She tried to be as honest as she could, but she could see that they weren't pleased with her answer.

Damon tightened his hold on Libia's shoulders, pressing a kiss to her cheek to reassure her, and she let out a deep breath at the contact. She was fine, she knew that she could do it if he was there with her.

"Well, I do hope you make your decisions soon. Is there anything you like to do, especially?"

Libia hesitated for a moment, before murmuring, "I...I like to dance."

"Dance? As in, Ballet?" 

Libia felt a short laugh rise to the surface, and Damon shook his head. 

"Not exactly. It's...more hip hop."

She felt the dissaproving gaze of Damon's father cut into her again, and knew that the answer she gave wasn't wanted. She winced.

"She's an amazing dancer," Damon piped up, and she could hear the defensive tone behind his voice, "I've seen what she can do. She could be a professional if she wanted."

Jack and Carol stared at Damon as if they were seeing him for the first time. She wondered how he was with them - was he different with Libia? She would have liked to think so, but she didn't want to be conceited. 

"I'm sure," Damon's father muttered, sipping his lemonade. It didn't sound convincing.

Damon looked as if he was ready to leave, so Libia took his hand in both of hers, calming him down some. 

"Ah, Libia, Damon tells me you're amazing with electronics," Carol jumped in, trying to change the subject.

"Oh...yeah. I suppose I have some knowledge about it. My dad was an electrician, and he taught me a few things. Mostly it's like a puzzle to solve for me."

Damon glanced at her. She'd never told him that her dad was an electrician. It made more sense now that he thought about it.

"Oh, how nice," Lisbon murmured, clearing her throat.

Libia shifted uncomfortably. It was silent again, and no one seemed to know what else to talk about. Damon, however, seemed relieved. Did he not want to talk anymore? She looked up at him, and noticed a hint of exhaustion in his eyes. It must have been tiring to hold back all of those thoughts and feelings towards them. Was this how it always was with them?

He met her slightly concerned gaze, and let a small smile slip. No matter how tired he was, he never ceased to smile at her. It was nice.

"Well, Libia, since you seem like a nice girl, I can assume you won't be influincing my son in ways that are unsatisfactory to his maturity?"

She looked at Rich, blinking at his words., not only was he threatening her, he was refurring to his Aunt. Maybe Damon's friends as well. Damon tensed, and even Libia couldn't hold back her protests at that moment.

"Maturity? I'm sorry, I didn't realize that Damon was that easily influinced by outside sources. I always saw Damon as a human being with his own capacity for making decisions."

It was silent yet again - even Damon had been shut down by her words. 

But Libia wasn't done yet.

"If I ever asked something of Damon that turned out to be "Unsatisfactory to his maturity" I'm sure he would decide on his own whether or not he agreed to such things. With all do respect, he is not a ten year old boy, Mr. Slain, he's an eighteen year old man who can do for himself."

Jack's mouth dropped open, and Carol covered her own with her palm as she lowered her head, hiding her smile. Damon stared at Libia as if seeing her in a new light, but she kept her gaze trained on Rich and Lisbon, wanting them to know just how much she disagreed with the treatment of their children. 

Lisbon stood, and Rich followed suit, straightening his shirt.

"Well, I really think that you don't know Damon at all, if you think that's the case. Now if you'll excuse us," Lisbon said, and she couldn't even manage that fake smile of hers.

Both of them went inside, and as they past, Rich sent her a scathing look.

As soon as the door closed, Libia smacked her palm to her forehead. "Oh my god. I thought for sure they'd kick me out."

Damon's mouth had dropped open a little while ago, and he still didn't have control of his voice. Carol stared at Libia, mystified. Jack leaned forward, asking,

"Libia, do you realize you just cause my parents to leave the area? Do you realize you just crushed their pitiful souls?"

She looked up with a worried gaze. She hadn't meant to hurt them. "I did?"

He blinked at her, sitting back with disbelief. Carol let out a laugh that was slightly amused, and slightly incredulous.

Damon shook his head, coming out of his daze as he noticed her worry. "Don't worry, Aunt Cass crushes their souls a lot. It's not that hard to do. You didn't hurt them - you hurt their pride."

"Oh," Libia murmured, slightly relieved, but slightly horrified that she'd hurt them in any way. 

Neither of them called Damon on his lie. It was very hard to break them from their prideful stupor. Cass would have visited a lot more often if that was the case. 

"Libia," Damon said, causing her to look at him. He smiled at her, and her heart stopped. It was a tender smile, a kind of smile that she'd never seen before - it was so loving, so innocent, and so beautiful that she had to hold her breath. "Thank you."

She shook her head, not understanding.

"You stood up for me. Stood up for all of us. You were amazing."

She sucked in a gulp of air, and furrowed her eyebrows. "I did?"

"You have no idea," Carol murmured, still disbelieving. "Absolutely no clue."

She really didn't. She simply said what was on her mind - what had been on her mind since the night that Damon came to her house drunk. Had she really made that much of a difference?

"Geez, Damon. You said she was shy," Jack said to him on a laugh. "How could you lie to us like that?"

Damon shook his head, his eyes never leaving Libia as he watched her cheeks flush. 

Why did he think she was shy again? He didn't know.

Dinner was more awkward than Libia could have imagined. Libia wanted to apologize to Damon for creating such a stale atmosphere, but every time she looked at him with eyes that asked if she was at fault, he would roll his own and shake his head as if she were being absurd. And maybe she was, but she felt as if there would be reprecussions for her words - perhaps his parents forbidding him to see Libia ever again. 

The food was delicious, as she made known to Jack many times throughout the meal, whether it be telling him outright, or the indulgent smile on her face every time she'd take a bite. And he enjoyed every minute of praise, grinning as he ate his meal proudly.

Of course his parents simply had to ruin it.

"You could have seasoned the meat a little more." Lisbon murmured.

"The broth tastes store bought," Rich added in after.

Jack's smile faded, as he turned his eyes back down to his food. Libia then didn't regret a single word she'd said to them both. Cassidy was right - hatred only bred hatred, and it was biting into Libia like a rabid dog.

After dinner, Lisbon and Rich excused themselves to their office, and while Jack and Carol cleaned up, they insisted that Damon and Libia go and be alone for a while. And while Libia was hesitant, wanting to help clean, Damon pulled her along nonetheless. He led her back up to his room, ushering her in and closing the door after her. She walked over to his bed, settling down on the matress, which conformed to her position, as she realized it was memory foam. 

"I've always wanted to have a bed like this," She mused, bouncing slightly.

She looked up to find Damon staring at her from a few feet away, as if taking her in. Tilting her head, she smiled and asked,

"What?"

He shook his head, walking over to where she sat and settling down next to her. 

"I just never thought that I'd actually ever have you in here. It's a strange feeling - you've always seemed like such a far away dream."

She couldn't help but look away, her cheeks flushing. "I'm not that good a person, you know," She murmured. 

He sighed, "Libia, no one's perfect, but compared to me, you're a diamond."

She lifted her hand to his chest, over his heart. It was pounding. So his heart beat as fast as hers in these situations?

"You're not a bad person, Damon. No matter what you say, I'll never believe that."

He smiled down at her as she lifted her gaze to his, and wrapped an arm around her shoulders. "Thanks, Babe."

She laid her head against his chest,