A/n- Welcome to my new story! So this one is my baby, I've been working on this first chapter for quite some time because I wanted it to be just right and hopefully I've managed to hit on it. This story is going to be really slow going, I hope to update it once every two weeks because this one I feel has to have the long chapters in order to tell the story properly. Anyways that being said thank you in advance to everyone that reads, reviews, favorites and follows, I appreciate it. Until next time happy reading.
Somewhere only we know
"Scotch on the rocks," He requested to the extremely young bartender as he sat down. He thought about it for a moment before running his fingers back through his hair, letting out a slow breath, "On second thought, make it a double." The Mystic falls Bar hadn't changed at all in the ten years that he had been gone, then again the town itself from what he had seen on the drive through hadn't changed at all either: not that he really cared; it wasn't like he planned on staying long at all- he was there for one reason and one reason only- Giuseppe Salvatore, the bane of his existence and his father, had finally kicked the bucket after making his life a living hell for the twenty some odd years that he had been alive. His drink had barely been set down in front of him before he was tossing it back, gritting his teeth as the liquid burned its way down his throat. "Another." He requested, setting the empty glass down on the bar-top. He wouldn't have even bothered coming back to Mystic falls had it not been for his annoying younger brother bitching at him about it- he knew that he never should have answered that phone call from him. He would have rather not thought about the town that he hated, the people that he hated, the brother that he hated and worse yet, he didn't want to think about her.
Katherine Pierce had been the only woman that he had ever loved and she had also taught him the most important lesson that he had learned to date: That letting your guard down- that loving people- was a mistake that could only end in pain. He swore softly, barely giving the bartender any notice as the second drink was set down in front of him. He glanced down at his watch before shaking his head- he knew that he was due at the house to meet with the funeral home director but he couldn't bring himself to want to- hell it was the reason he had come to the bar first and not gone straight to the manor- he would be damned if he ever called that house his home again. Picking up his second drink he knocked it back, stood up, dropped some cash on the counter and turned towards the door only to start swearing under his breath. There standing in the entrance to the bar was none other than Elena Gilbert, cousin to Katherine Pierce and the second to last person that he wanted to see. Turning around he sat back down at the bar, praying to whatever god was out there that she didn't notice him- but then the bar stool two down from him was being pulled out and she was slumping down into the chair, gesturing the young bartender over towards her.
"Tequila please," He cast his glance to the side to really look at her as she let out a slow breath. Elena and Katherine could have been twins for how close the two girls looked, chocolate colored curls on both of them, ivory skin and a figure to kill for- but it was their eyes that separated them. Elena's were amber in color, warm and inviting looking like a good glass of whiskey while Katherine's were blue, cold and hard like ice. He studied her for a moment, noting the dark circles under her eyes and the way that she seemed almost gaunt looking, pale and sickly like she hadn't been out in the sun in months, even the caramel curls of hers had lost all of their shine. The requested shot was set down in front of her and like a champ she slung it back, making Damon kinda proud- it took a special kind of woman to be able to shoot tequila like that. She glanced sideways at him through the long sweep of her hair before cocking an eyebrow, no recognition in her gaze whatsoever. "What?" She finally snapped turning to face him completely, her eyes narrowed like she was tired of being stared at, and that was when Damon realized that he had been staring at her. He shrugged his shoulders and let out a slow breath, half convinced that suddenly she was going to realize who he was and then Katherine was going to find out and all hell was going to break loose when she found out he was back in town.
"Nothing." He muttered as she glared at him. Gone was the soft girl that he knew and in her place sat a woman that he didn't recognize. Elena, from what he knew of her, had always been the nicer of the two girls but from the way that she was staring at him it seemed like that wasn't the case anymore.
"Damn straight its nothing." She grumbled. He shook his head and she rolled her eyes before turning back towards the bar, silently requesting another drink. The bartender barely spared her a look as he set down the second shot in front of her, almost like she was a regular and this was a normal thing from her, but that bags that she had carried in with her told a completely different story. Had little Elena Gilbert actually been able to escape from Mystic falls? He shrugged softly before deciding that he didn't care- he wasn't in town to find out what had happened in the time that he had been gone, he had one mission only and that was to see the funeral though and then get the hell outta dodge. Licking his lips he shrugged to himself again, briefly the thought of Katherine floating through his head before he shrugged it off and stood once more, making for the entrance- it was time to be a big boy and go put up with his pain in the ass younger sibling.
Elena tried not to spare the guy next to her any mind as he got up and left the bar, there was something that was familiar about him but she couldn't exactly place it- not that she really cared. Inside the inner pocket of her jacket her phone was constantly buzzing, the soft vibrating probably a result of her best friend blowing up her inbox with text after text asking where she was. She let out a slow breath and picked up her second shot, the familiar burn of the tequila as it slid down her throat a warm welcome. She really didn't want to deal with Caroline right that second- she had thought that she would be okay returning to Mystic falls for the first time since her family had died in the car accident, her younger brother the only family that was left out of a family of them, but so far being in the familiar town was causing more harm than it was good- she couldn't understand what had possibly made her agree to return. Growling softly she swore under her breath and reached into her pocket to tug out her cell phone when the buzzing had grated on her final nerve.
"Christ, what?!" She snapped, barely pausing to look at who was calling before the phone was up to her ear. She knew that she should feel at least slightly bad about snapping but found that she really couldn't bring herself to care- she was annoyed.
"Wow, what crawled up your ass and died?" Came the snarked back response of her younger brother. Elena rolled her eyes and let out a slow breath.
"Goodbye Jeremy." She smiled sweetly even though she knew that he couldn't see it and barely kept the laughter to herself as the bartender looked at her like she was nuts.
"Wait." Came his quickly stuttered reply, "I was calling because Caroline said that she couldn't get ahold of you and wanted to let you know that we are no longer meeting at her house but at the Salvatore boarding house instead." Elena rolled her eyes and let out a slow breath. Great, she could just imagine how well that was going to make things go. She couldn't stand the younger Salvatore brother- even though he was Caroline's fiancé but more than that, she hated the father. Sucking in a sharp breath she quickly released it before reaching up to pinch the bridge of her nose, feeling a headache coming on.
"Please tell me the old pervert isn't going to be there." She questioned softly as her forehead wrinkled, "Because I swear if I have to hear one more thing about how-" She never got to finish her sentence cause Jeremy cut her off.
"The old man died just a few days ago." Once again she thought she could feel guilty, but it honestly felt like after everything that had happened with her family she just didn't feel anything anymore and she found that she couldn't really even bring herself to care. "That's why we are meeting at the house, Salvatore is meeting his brother there to go over some funeral arrangements or something- I dunno it's your best friend-how they can even be thinking of getting married right after a funeral is beyond me." Elena rolled her eyes, it sounded just like something that Caroline would do- she could practically hear the bubbly ex-cheerleader going on and on about how during a time like that people need something happy to focus on so why not get married. She sighed and slid off of the barstool, dropping down a twenty and a ten before reaching for her bags.
"Whatever, I'm on my way." And then she was ending the phone call before he could really get anything more out, not that she really wanted to hear it anyways. Closing her eyes she slipped her phone back into her coat pocket and debated sitting back down at the bar- if she was being honest with herself she really didn't want to be going to the manor, hell she really didn't want to be even home and it was only with the pushing of her older brother and her other best friend Bonnie that she even had considered it- and now she was there and it wasn't exactly like she could change her mind. Swearing softly she slipped out of the Mystic falls bar and into the chilly air, tugging her jacket tighter around her shoulders. She tossed her bags into the backseat of her rental and climbed in herself, starting up the small sports car. It had cost her extra but she really didn't care at that moment, she wanted something to make her happy and a car that matched the one that she drove back home in LA seemed like it was the perfect fit, because damn it she was going to find small comforts where ever she could.
She grumbled softly under her breath as she drove towards the boarding house, the quick romps that she had had with the younger Salvatore when she was a teen and acting out ensuring that she knew the way like she knew the back of her hand. When she pulled into the circular driveway she was dismayed to find that it was lined with cars. She recognized Jeremy's baby and Caroline's precious little car but the others were new to her and she found herself dreading the thought of walking into a house that was probably full to the brim with people that she would rather not be seeing. She sat for a few minutes in her car, her eyes trained towards the house and the feeling of wanting to run slowly increasing. Finally she sucked in a slow breath through her nose and killed the engine, pushing open her door. Standing in the alcove next to the front door was the guy from the bar, one leg crossed over the other as he puffed slowly at a cigarette, his back pressed against one of the walls. She cocked her head to the side, the feeling of knowing him settling over her again as she clicked the locker on the car. She shrugged to herself and approached the house, refusing to even look at him as she knocked on the front door. Elena barely raised her hand again to knock for a second time when the door swung open and there was Caroline in all her blond haired, way too damn perky glory.
"Oh my god! Lena! Look at you." She squealed, bouncing up and down like a little kid on crack before she was tossing her arms around an awkward looking Elena. Elena smiled slightly and reluctantly hugged her best friend back, wondering not for the first time what the hell she was thinking when she came back to Mystic falls. Caroline stepped back, flashed Elena a smile and then stalked around her, looking her over, "You look so good." She cooed. Elena tried her best not to roll her eyes but it felt like a losing battle, "And oh my god you put red through your hair! It looks so cute." That was the moment that Damon chose to speak, clearing his throat slightly to save Elena from what looked like cruel and unusual punishment.
"Wow Barbie, I never would of expected you to come running out of my house." Elena glanced over her shoulder, finally able to connect where she knew him from. She mouthed thank you and stepped into the house, leaving Damon to deal with the hyper active blond. "Did something happen that I don't know about." He knew for damn sure that a lot of things had happened that he didn't know about, the day that he actually paid attention to the emails that his brother randomly sent him would be the day that hell froze over- not that anyone else needed to know that he always just deleted them rather than reading them.
"Ha-ha, very funny." Caroline snarked back, folding her arms across her chest, "You know damn well that Stefan proposed to me six months ago," Damon cocked an eyebrow at the feisty little girl, not bothering to let her know that it was actually news to him right at that moment.
"Was that something that I was actually supposed to know?" He finally questioned when she just sat there, staring at him, her arms folded over her chest.
"God Damon, you're such a dick!" She snapped at him, stamping her foot, "You better not do anything, and I mean anything to spoil what Stefan and I have because this is my special day and so help me if you cause problems for me, I'll guarantee that you never have kids and your favorite parts are ripped off." She looked pointedly down at his jeans as she snarled the words at him before whirling around and stomping into the house, calling after Elena as she went. Damon chuckled softly as he followed her into the house, not for the first time wondering what it was that his brother saw in the ex-cheerleader- not that he really cared or anything. The house was familiar, it looked like nothing had changed in the years since he had left- the same familiar furniture, stuffy interior and overly pompous looking making him feel even more out of place then he usually did. He found the group of them standing in the overly formal living room, Elena looking like she wanted to run, the fingers that were wrapped around her crystal decanter twitching ever so slightly. The room seemed cheerful despite the grave circumstances that had brought all of them there (the wedding that was coming up not really registering in his head) and because of it nobody really seemed to notice that Elena seemed on the verge of breaking down. He took a step towards her, determined to ask if she was okay, but before he could really say anything she was heavily setting the glass down on the mantle and making a bolt for the hallways, muttering something under her breath about needing to use the restroom. Nobody in the living room paid her much attention, instead they kept talking. Damon swore softly, turned on his heel and followed her out of the living room.
Elena swallowed as she leaned back against the wall in the hallways, her chest heaving as she fought a panic attack that she never dreamed she would have had just stepping foot into the Salvatore boarding house. Swearing she squeezed her eyes shut, not for the first time wondering what the hell had possessed her to allow Jeremy and Bonnie to talk her into coming back- it was a mistake, one that she would rectify as soon as she possibly could. She jumped, a gasp escaping her lips when a hand settled onto her arm, her eyes flying open.
"Are you okay?" She swallowed, trying to control her breathing, her eyes wide in panic. He tilted his head to the side looking at her questioningly and just like that Elena lost her temper.
"What the hell is wrong with you?" She snarled, her arm yanked from his grasp and her eyes narrowing into a glare, "You damn near gave me a heart attack and just." Damon chuckled softly as she ranted; recognizing from his own experience the anger that hid the walls of what she was truly feeling at that moment.
"You looked like you were about to pass out." He offered folding his arms across his chest. Elena rolled her eyes.
"Yeah well you nearly caused that to happen asshole." Damon chuckled softly as she raised her voice, all out yelling. He knew if he didn't do something soon Barbie was going to come running and that was never a good thing.
"Lena?!" Speak of the devil- Damon smirked at the horror that appeared in Elena's eyes- as much as she wanted to bitch and moan about Damon scaring her he was pretty damn sure that she wanted to be around Caroline even less. She shook her head slowly, chewing on her bottom lip in a way that was drawing Damon's eyes down to it, her breathing once more going shallow.
"Don't let her find me," She pleaded, the attitude from the moment before disappearing, her hands reaching up to clutch at his shirt, "I'm not ready to go back, I don't want to be around her and if I am she's going to drive me nuts, I have no idea what the hell I was thinking even coming back here." Damon chuckled softly while Elena's eyes narrowed into a glare, "It's not funny! I'm not kidding, she's hyperactive on a good day but right now I just can't handle it." Elena let out a slow breath, squeezing her eyes shut, her throat constricting as she tried to swallow, "Please, I'm begging you." She briefly wondered if she should be ashamed and just face it- she had been reduced to begging a stranger to save her from one of her best friends and that was pretty damn pathetic, but the sound of Caroline's heels on the wooden stairs leading up towards the hallway were causing her to panic more than her damn pride was worth. Damon licked his lips, watching as her breathing became shallow until finally he reached for her hand, taking pity on her.
She jumped at the first touch of his skin against hers, her eyes flashing open to reveal a look of extreme panic. She had been kidding herself to think that she could ever come back here and be okay- she knew that now, but it was too late they had already seen her and they wouldn't understand if she just wanted to leave.
"Come on" He murmured with a soft tug on her hand, "You can come hide out upstairs." She knew what he was like, Katherine hadn't minced her words when it came to what kind of man Damon was and yet she found herself following him down the hallway and up the stairs onto the second floor. Her heart thudded against her chest as she followed him, wondering what the hell she was thinking, she had a better chance of dealing with Caroline then sticking around Damon- but by the time that she had made up her mind to go back downstairs he was already pushing open the door to what she could only assume was his bedroom and stepping to the side so she could go in first. Her bottom lip was between her teeth as she stepped into the room, her head cocked to the side and her eyes darting around the room. It wasn't anything like what she was expecting- from what little Katherine had told her Damon was cold, calculating, manipulative and cruel and yet his room didn't reflect any of that. The curtains were pulled back letting sunlight filter into a room that was decorated in warm browns and blacks. She swallowed as she walked further in to what she assumed was his sanctuary, her hands running over the polished wood of his bedframe, her mind unwilling to think about why she suddenly felt calm.
"Its beautiful." She found herself murmuring, turning her head slightly to look at him. He shrugged, not really saying anything and not really seeming to care.
"It's a room." He replied cynically with another shrug. He stepped in behind her, tugging the door closed and leaned against it, waiting to hear if the blond Barbie had figured out where they had disappeared to. She shrugged herself, not willing to push him any, if he was willing to help her then that was his business and she wasn't going to test the waters with it at all, the last thing she wanted was him giving her up to Caroline, there was only so much of her best friend that she could handle and at that moment that wasn't it. Damon tensed when he heard the clack of the Barbie's shoes on the wooden floors outside his bedroom. He made the stupidest decision that he could in that moment, the look on Elena's face telling him he was right as his hand curled around the back of Elena's neck and drew her into a kiss. He barely heard Caroline scream behind him when she opened the door, instead all he could focus on in that moment was Elena's lips on his.