"I can't do this anymore, Stefan."
Damon Salvatore sighed, speaking the words that had been burning deep inside him for weeks now, since they were turned, since his beloved brother started tearing innocent people to pieces, toying with them. He felt hatred for his brother. Before the transition, he was able to be himself. He was able to simply be human. But now, every glance at his brother made his insides twist.
Standing before him was his younger brother, Stefan. His wavy hair a mess, his normally green eyes turned the color of midnight now. His fangs were extended as his mouth twisted into a small smile, a look of amusement; blood dripping from his lips. His brother was what other vampires would call a ripper. He did not take small doses of the blood of others for his survival, inside, he drained them completely, leaving them lifeless. Stefan stood up now, wiping his mouth with the inside of his sleeve.
"Now come on Damon," He spoke, a small smirk playing on his face. "I'll quit tomorrow, I swear." He chuckled, making his way over to a small cart where a few bottles of alcohol were, pouring two glasses. Biting the inside of his cheek, Damon shook his head at the sloppy appearance of the once elegant home he and Stefan had grown up in. It was dark and dingy, the expensive Persian rugs were stained with blood and the grand staircase was littered with a few discarded bodies of women who clearly never made it up to Stefan's sleeping quarters before he finished them off.
Stefan walked gracefully back to where Damon stood and handed him the drink. "Drink up brother, tonight we hunt." He took a gulp of the bourbon, eyeing Damon with a knowing glint in his eye. Damon smirked a bit and brought the drink to his lips, tasting the familiar liquid he had grown so accustomed to over the years.
"Tonight you hunt. Brother." He spoke the once loving word with disdain, almost spitting it out now. "I'm done here." He turned to walk out the door, setting his empty glass on the small end table. Quicker than a blink, Stefan was there, holding his shoulder's fiercely. Damon squirmed beneath his strength, letting out a low predatory growl.
"Don't leave. You hate me…I know that, I do. Please, I'll do better…I will." Stefan pleaded. Damon shook his head unbelievingly. That was the thing about vampire Stefan, he switched his humanity on and off without warning. Sometimes he was on the wagon, other times he was off it. One day he'd slaughter hundreds of wounded soldiers simply following the bloodlust that led him and the next, Damon would find him in tears on the couch, shaking and saying "What have I done?" again and again. And then he'd be back to the soulless dick vampire that allowed the blood control him. This was no different and as much as it pained Damon, he shook his brother off and walked towards the door stopped only momentarily, half-turning to see his younger brother standing there, defeated.
"Get help Stefan. You need it." It was the last thing he said before he left Mystic Falls. Vowing not to ever return.
New Orleans- 1922A pretty brunette let out a small moan in Damon's grasp as he drank slowly from her. Feeling her being drained of her life-force gave him a satisfying feeling deep in the pit of his stomach…or was it from his gums? They had felt swollen and painful before but now, since his fangs had pushed through and pierced the girl's neck, everything felt right again. Slowly, Damon pulled away. The girl looked at him with wide, doe-like eyes.
"Go home. Cover up these marks and forget all about me." He compelled her skillfully and she promptly turned to leave the motel he was residing in. He stood up, wiping the trickle of blood from his chin.
It had only been a few hours since he arrived in New Orleans. Previously, he had been in Chicago, checking up on Stefan, hoping to find a more reserved version of his younger brother who had gotten help; gotten better. No such luck. He did however, find himself a woman to occupy his time with, but he realized all too quickly that she too was a vampire and that she, like him, felt nothing for human life.
"Good to see nothing has changed, brother." Damon said with a sneer, catching Stefan in an empty alley, leaving some poor girl dead. Stefan turned on his heel to catch his older brother's judging gaze.
"You haven't changed a bit either. You'd think in last…what has it been? Almost sixty years? Damn we've had a lifetime…guess there's no hope for either of us." Stefan ran a hand through his gelled up hair, a popular look Damon had refused to buy into. His brother was right though, he realized. If they had been human, they both probably would have been dead by then. It hadn't seemed like so much time had gone by…
"Katherine lived over three-hundred years. You think she didn't change personalities a few hundred times during that?" Damon countered, noticing the slight distortion of his brother's face at the mention of their deceased shared lover.
"She certainly changed. First, she loved me. There were talks of marriage and she couldn't be happier. Then, you came trotting back from the war and suddenly, she couldn't be happy with just one of us. Guess people do change." Stefan said bitterly. Damon scowled.
"You can't expect to live forever without something changing, brother." Damon countered.
"Perhaps you can't. But I can go on forever being just who I am. Being bad…you should try it sometime. It's a rush." Stefan smirked, cocking up an eyebrow in challenge and inviting Damon to follow him back into the bar.
"There really is no hope for you, is there?" Damon said, and just like that, he was gone.
Damon punched the wall beside him angrily, the cement busting beneath his knuckles. Of course he had felt that darkness creeping up within him just as Stefan had…but why could he control it while his brother remained a slave to the evils that dwelled inside?
His brother didn't deserve anything good in life. If he wanted to be a demon, one without remorse and without a soul, then he'd have to answer to Damon. As he collected his belongings from the small motel, he vowed to continue to follow up on Stefan and make his life a living hell in every way possible. His brother didn't deserve to be happy.
Mystic Falls- 1953The body was being rolled out of the Salvatore Boarding House as Damon walked up, feigning a shocked expression as he tapped Stefan on the shoulder. Stefan turned around, his super-human speed kicking in. He looked furious.
"You-" Stefan growled.
"It's a shame Joseph had to die…I mean, being a Salvatore and all, I usually prefer not to murder relatives, even distant ones." Damon said coolly, shrugging. Stefan grabbed the collar of his shirt and in an instant, they were in the woods. Damon smirked and pushed his brother off of him with ease.
"Careful there Stefan. That's four mysterious attacks. Now…all those innocent people have only had one thing in common." Damon walked circles around Stefan. "And that, would be you, brother."
"Why are you doing this?" Stefan demanded.
"You know, back in 1864, I vowed to never return to this place. But I suppose it doesn't really feel like home anymore, I mean, our estate is in pieces out here." Damon ignored his question, extending his hand towards the remains of their childhood home. He felt a twinge of nostalgia for their old home, but it was quickly replaced by the images of his father drained of blood in the study after Stefan murdered him, inducing the transition and then forcing it onto Damon.
"I haven't done anything to you. Why are you doing this?" Stefan asked again, his voice low with anger. Stefan had actually changed since Chicago. He had stopped drinking human blood, discovering that it was more like a drug to his system, causing him to be anything but himself. Damon had changed too…after vowing to make his brother's life hell, he had, unpurposely, turned into his brother.
"Why Mystic Falls though? Just passing through I hope. Small towns are so boring. Not enough people to feed on. I like a variety." Damon smirked, licking his lips. Stefan stared at him in shock.
"What happened to you?" He eyed Damon as if trying to find some sort of answer hidden in plain sight.
"Vampires live so long that they often go back and forth through their complex layers of personality, Stefan. You became the villain because you could be. I became the villain because you forced me." Damon concluded. "This is revenge, little brother."
Stefan ran for him full force with all intentions of attacking him, but Damon was stepped out of the way. Stefan was quick, but Damon was quicker. They scrapped, but the battle was far from matched; Damon was far more powerful than Stefan had intended him to be. Thinking on his feet, Stefan grabbed a stake, running towards Damon with full intentions of stabbing him but in an instant, Stefan was on the ground, a scream erupting from his lips as Damon drove the stake into his stomach.
"Don't push me." Damon snarled, twisted the branch and causing Stefan more pain. "You made me this way. Now deal with it." He growled, and just like that, he vanished. Stefan sat up, pulling the stake out with a painful groan.
They had both switched roles, hadn't they? Stefan found the light, but not before he had led his brother into the darkness. Shedding his blood-stained shirt and feeling weak, he decided to hunt once more before leaving Mystic Falls for good.
Atlanta- 1994
"I never pictured you as a Southern gentleman type." The familiar voice caused Damon to smirk, turning around to meet his brother's green eyes.
"Gentleman? No. Southern? I can pull it off." Damon replied, taking a swig of his Bourbon, glancing around the crowded bar and then back at Stefan. "Jeez, what are you wearing?"
"What are you doing here, Damon?" Stefan asked, sitting on the stool beside him. Damon chuckled.
"Oh come on Stefan. I'm here because you're here." He smirked. Stefan smiled, but it didn't quite meet his eyes, with good reason too. Damon had been followed Stefan for years, determined to make his life a living hell.
"I don't exactly see you around much anymore though. I seem to only get the pleasure of seeing your handiwork." Stefan commented, waving down the bartender and ordering two more glasses of Bourbon. Damon nodded.
"Ahh yes. I figured out a new trick. Harder to spot me." Damon spoke vaguely on purpose. He had recently acquired the skill of turning into a large crow, blending into nearly every situation and staying out of Stefan's super-human sight while also staying close. Just as Stefan opened his mouth to question Damon, their drinks came.
"We should start over Damon. We're brothers for God's sake." Stefan commented, bringing the drink to his lips. Damon laughed.
"It's rather bold of you to believe in God, considering when your sorry ass does die, you'll be going the complete opposite way of heaven." Damon stated, honestly, sipping at his drink. Vampires were damned creatures. The two of them had rooms reserved in Hell, no doubt about it. Stefan just rolled his eyes.
"Is that your way of saying no?" Stefan asked, exasperated.
"No." Damon said, thinking for a moment. "It's my way of saying, I'd never want to get back on 'good terms' with a dick like you." He finished his drink, slamming the glass back onto the table and walking out of the bar.
Mystic Falls-2009
The dark fog filled his path as Stefan walked toward the Boarding house. It had been nearly fifteen years since he had even seen Damon. While he had still noticed the set-backs that letting him know he was still keeping his eye on him, Stefan found the distance making him nervous. In fact…over the last five years at least, he hadn't even seen the evidence of Damon being around. There were no 'mysterious' deaths following his path anymore, and feeling as if it may finally be over, Stefan found his way back to Mystic Falls.
He wasn't there long before he pulled a girl from a car wreck, almost horrified by what he saw. Katherine. Only…it wasn't Katherine. The girl's name was Elena Gilbert but she looked exactly like Katherine and it made the gears in his mind turn. Months later, he realized that he couldn't stand it anymore…he had to know her. Enrolling in the high school, he was able to run into her and meet her. Quickly, he felt that emptiness disappearing from within him, the darkness being lit up completely.
But tonight something happened. Something Stefan hadn't anticipated because he had forgotten that familiarity of having death follow him everywhere he went. As he got home, busting into the Boarding house, a crow flapped its wings outside the window realization hit Stefan like a ton of bricks. It vanished and when he turned toward the open door, there stood his brother.
"Damon." He said in surprise. Damon smirked.
"Hello brother." Stefan looked dead at him, angry that he was showing up now, just as things were finally looking up for him.
"Crow is a little much, don't you think?" He started. Damon lifted his eyebrows in amusement with his younger brother.
"Wait until you see what I can do with the fog." He replied, starting to poke around Stefan's room.
"When did you get here?" Stefan demanded.
"Well I couldn't miss your first day of school." He replied sarcastically, turning back to look at his brother from his place near the book shelf. "Your hair is different. I like it."
"It's been fifteen years, Damon." Stefan was really starting to get on his nerves with this obvious stating of facts. But he continued to play along.
"Thank God. I couldn't take another day of the nineties. That horrible grunge look did not suit you." He chuckled a bit, Stefan remained dead still. "Remember Stefan, it's important to stay away from fads." He warned, smirking. It wasn't the first time he had watched his brother fall into the popular trends of the time periods.
"Why are you here?" Stefan demanded again, his tone falling angry which surprised Damon slightly. But he liked to keep up with the games and keeping Stefan aggravated was so simple that he felt a need to do it as often as possible.
"I missed my little brother." Damon claimed, as if it was obvious, his smirk giving way to his sarcasm.
"You hate small towns. It's boring, there's nothing for you to do." Stefan argued, hoping that he could drive his brother in the opposite direction.
"I can manage to keep myself busy." He hinted, his blue eyes shining. Stefan sighed.
"Why are you here now?" he specified.
"Well now, I could ask you the same question, but then again, I'm sure the answer could be summed up into one word: Elena." Damon replied with a smirk, revealing that he had indeed been following him for days now at least. "She's a dead ringer for Katherine."
"She is not Katherine." Stefan growled, jaw locked. Damon nodded, understandingly.
"Well let's hope not, we both know how that ended." He lifted an eyebrow, deciding to change the subject. "Tell me something, when's the last time you had something stronger than a squirrel?" Stefan scoffed.
"I know what you're doing and it's not going to work Damon." Stefan said carefully, Damon shoved him over and over, testing him.
"You know you want it. Come on. We'll do it together! I saw a couple girls out there." He said, teasing him, hitting him harder now. "Or, let's cut straight to the chase, we'll go after Elena." That did it. Stefan growled loudly at him, telling him to stop.
"Imagine what her blood tastes like! I can!" Damon yelled at his brother.
"Enough!" Stefan yelled as he shoved Damon out the window, causing them both to fall. Only, Damon didn't hit the ground at all. He was too quick for that and Stefan was lying flat on his stomach as his older brother applauded him, poking fun at him as he got up to face him again.
"You think it's all fun and games, Damon. But wherever you go, people die." Stefan informed him, causing Damon to scoff.
"That's a given." Damon said as he casually leaned against the house.
"No. I won't allow it. Not this time. Not here." Stefan seemed to finally be growing a pair. Damon cocked his head to the side, clearly surprised by his baby brother.
"I take that as an invitation." Damon said, amused.
"Damon please…after all these years, can't we just give it a rest?" There it was. The good old Stefan's plead. It seemed to come up many times of the years and each time it made Damon smirk.
"I vowed to give you an eternity of misery. I'm just keeping my word." Damon said with a shrug, causing Stefan to realize he wasn't going to let up. One final warning though…
"Just stay away from Elena." Stefan demanded. Damon grabbed his throat, letting out a growl and throwing him across the yard. Hearing a noise, he smirked.
"I think you woke up Zach." Damon said, turning on his heel towards the house. Once up in his room, he spread out on the big bed. It looked exactly the way he had left it years and years ago, before Joseph's death.
He folded his hands above his head and sighed, feeling the burden of guilt and humanity seeping through the cracks of the darkness within him. He followed Stefan here to their old home only to check on him, but it was Elena who caught his attention. He was ready to stop torturing his brother, he was ready to be himself again…But when the face of Katherine flooded his senses, he realized that he had to know this girl. After following her, he realized that she was not Katherine. They were polar opposites, and Stefan was after her.
That left him with one final battle left within him. He'd let the darkness leave him for good, just as intended, but not until he could shake his brother. As he drifted off to sleep, he made one final vow; Elena Gilbert would be his.