Elena shifted her weight from one foot to the other, feeling awkward. Last night, Damon was beside her while she slept. Not Stefan. Not Matt. Damon. She recalled the memory in her head, forcing herself not to grin.
Elena finished brushing her teeth, and placed the hand towel back on the counter. She walked back into her room, and was taken aback by the figure lying on her bed.
"Oh Damon, seriously?" She sighed, finding Damon lounging comfortably on her mattress.
"I got Mikael." He murmured, watching her, letting her take it in.
"What? How?" She asked, moving closer towards him.
"No idea, I guess Katherine came through. The plan's in motion. I told you I had it." He smiled appraisingly, one arm behind his head. "Go ahead, kick, yell, scream. I'm sure you've been planning your rant all day." He rolled his eyes at his own comment.
"I'm not going to yell at you." She sighed, grabbing her comforter. She didn't have the strength to yell at him.
"Why not? I went behind your back, freed Stefan. And you know what? My plan backfired. He's an even bigger dick than ever." He raised his eyebrows at his own comment, rolling his eyes again. "It's just now, he's a dick that's on our side." He smiled.
"I'm not mad. I'm tired. I just… I want to go to bed." She really was tired. She could feel her eyes getting heavier by the second. She'd had a long day. And Damon obviously wasn't taking the hint.
"You know, I think Mikael's weapon is a stake, because he mentioned something about it." Damon drawled, looking over at her, searching for a response that didn't sound tiring.
"So then they must have carved it from the white oak tree before they burned it down." She replied, trying to yank her covers out from underneath him, a plan that wasn't working at all.
"Well then I was right." He said with a satisfied smirk. Elena loved that smirk. Mostly because she knew that Damon was almost always right. No matter how much she didn't want to admit it.
"After all that, the wall lead us to Mikael." He smiled.
At this point, Elena had given up. She pushed her blanket up, crawling into bed next to him, too tired to care that it was Damon Salvatore in her bed next to her.
"Led us to more than just that. I think I got Rebekah on our side too." She sighed, looking at him.
Damon watched her, searching her face. "Really?" He shifted, moving his body closer to hers just a bit. "What did you learn from her?"
Elena sighed.
"I learned that she's just a girl." She turned to look at him for just a moment. "That she lost her mom too young and that she loves blindly and recklessly even if it consumes her." She realized what she had said and why it had sounded familiar, and looked over at Damon, a realization in her features.
"You know when all is said and done, there's nothing more important than the bond of family." She murmured, knowing it was true. Elena knew family was the only thing important. The only thing that lasted forever. Then she looked at Damon. Regretting her thought, knowing she had been wrong.
"You should tell that to my brother." Damon stared into her eyes, a calm look on his face. He was content. And Elena knew it.
"I'm not mad at you for letting him out Damon." She shook her head, staring at him,her face inches from his."I think you're going to be the one to save him from himself." She said softly. "It won't be because he loves me. It will be because he loves you." She said it matter-of-factly, knowing Damon wanted to know more.
"Can I tell you the rest tomorrow?" She asked quietly, pushing her face into her pillow. She was tired, and was ready for her eyes to close.
"Sure." He whispered. He could wait forever for Elena Gilbert. And in his heart, he knew that he might have to.
Elena recalled the memory in her head, wondering if it had been a dream. When she woke the next morning, Damon wasn't beside her anymore. Now, she was standing at The Grill, waiting for Matt. He'd texted her saying he'd wanted to "talk". She knew it had something to do with the supernatural. That was all Matt talked about lately. Elena understood. Matt had been through a lot lately. He made his sister leave by choice. That had to have been hard on him. It had always been Matt and Vicki. Now it was just Matt.
Elena looked around, staring at her peers. They didn't know the truth. They didn't know about the existence of Vampires and Werewolves and Witches. It was something out of a story, Elena knew that. But it was real. And she knew most of them would die never knowing the truth.
That's the moment Stefan re-entered her memory. She looked down at her feet, feeling sad all over again. She would never give up, but most days that was exactly what she felt like doing. Matt walked over to her, still wearing his apron. "Hey, Elena. I've gotta make this quick, I only have a 10 minute break."
"Hey, Matt. No problem, I've got things to take care of anyway. So what's up?" She looked at him curiously, waiting for his response.
He shrugged. "To be honest, I wanted to see if you were okay."
Confusion swept over her face, and Matt recognized it almost imeadiately.
"I know, it sounds stupid. But I know you've had a lot going on lately."
She looked down again, and noted that she had been doing that a lot lately. "Yeah, Matt. I have. But I'm fine. Honestly, you didn't have to check up on me." Damon entered her mind at that point. And not for any particular reason. She just wondered what he was doing at that moment. Probably drinking with Ric. She thought absentmindedly.
Matt nodded, looking at her. "Okay. If you say so. Y'know, Elena, I know you a lot better than you think. I know something's up, something bigger than fantasy. You don't have a very good way of hiding things."
Elena sighed, knowing he was right. She looked up at him, "Well, I guess I should go now. And your break is probably about over. Have a good day, Matt." She turned from him, walking out of The Grill. She breathed in the fresh air, needing to get out of that place. What an odd reason for Matt wanting to talk. Just to see if she was okay? That didn't make any sense to her, but she had bigger things to worry about now. Like the fact that Damon kept flooding her mind. And that didn't make much sense, either.
Over at the Boarding House, Damon sat on the couch by the fireplace, contemplating what he should do. Should he text her? No, he decided. That would be too brief of a conversation. Should he call? No, he did that all the time. She would expect a call. Just as he was thinking of something other than the previous two options, He heard the front door open, then quietly close. "Damon?" Elena called out, dropping her purse by the floor.
Damon stood up, walking over to her. "Hey. What's the latest drama?" he went over to his alcohol stash, raiding the scotch.
Elena sighed heavily, plopping down on the couch. "Have you heard anything from Caroline about Matt lately?"
A confused look washed over Damon's face. He grinned. "Right. Like Caroline would go out of her way to talk to her pal Damon Salvatore about yours and her ex-boyfriend." He poured the scotch into a glass, swirling it around before taking a sip.
"Good one, Elena." He sat across from her.
She sighed again. "Matt texted me today asking him to meet me at The Grill because he wanted to 'talk'." Elena did quotes with her fingers when she said the work 'talk'. She continued, "Then, when I showed up, all he wanted was to ask if I was okay. Which sounds suspicious to me."
Damon rolled his eyes and scoffed, "Oh, please, Elena. You're way too paranoid lately. Which doesn't surprise me given the fact of recent history in Mystic Falls." He pointed to himself. "Aka," then he whispered, "Vampire."
Elena shook her head. "It just doesn't make sense, Damon. Why would he want to know how I'm doing?"
"You're asking me like I have an answer to your question." He took another sip from the glass, looking at her. For the first time since she'd arrived, he'd noticed her clothes, her hair, her delicate facial features he wished he could just touch. Just once.
She looked over at him, nodding. "I guess you're right. Why would I ask you? You don't pay attention to anything but your own ego." She stood up, willing herself to leave.
Damon did his Vampire voodoo magic, suddenly appearing in front of her, blocking her way to the front door. He looked in her eyes, a look of sincerity on his face. "I didn't mean to upset you."
She stared back, giving him a hard look. She wasn't fooled by him in the least. He looked at her, desperate for an answer. With each passing day, he grew more hungry. Not for blood. For Elena Gilbert. He loved her. He didn't think it was possible to love someone as much as he loved Elena. In that instant, he wanted her. All of her. To kiss her sweet lips, to feel her face underneath his fingertips.
"Oh, please, Damon. You always mean to upset people. You must be high."
He shook his head, staring deep into her chocolate brown eyes. "It's you that gets me high." He whispered, his face inches from hers.
Elena's heart beat picked up, her breathing becoming more shallow. She knew what he was about to do. For a moment, she could feel herself giving in. She almost met his gaze. Almost pushed her lips onto his. But for whatever reason, she couldn't.
She leaned into him, then stepped around him, grabbing her purse as she walked to the door.
Damon was taken aback, as he'd thought he knew exactly what would just happen. He looked back at her, shock ridden on his face.
Elena turned, staring at him. She chuckled, "Oh please. You can't just get whatever you want, Damon." And with that, she opened the door, and strode out. Without a single look back.
Damon stood there, speechless. He knew she was right. But only about one thing. Damon wanted Elena. And he couldn't have her.
