A/N
This a story about coming together and falling apart, about relationships and their fragile aspects.
This takes place in no specific time in the series.
Enjoy!
Split Second
EPOV
"I have a bad feeling about this."
Stefan just smiled and looked at me. He knew these kinds of parties weren't my type, but I had agreed to come, to be his date and not to deemed as the anti-social girl who wanted to spend New Year's Eve in a more secluded place instead of in the Mayor's party hall with around 100 other people. Besides, a little tingle in my head and my eyes burning just a little gave me the tip that I was developing a not too friendly cold.
"Relax" he leaned in and gave me a soft peck on the lips "everything's going to be alright".
I tried to return his smile the best way that I could and as we climbed the last steps of the huge staircase that led to the huge mansion, he cleared his throat and when I turned to look at him, he had a mischievous look on his face.
"What?"
He leaned in once again and whispered.
"You look gorgeous in that dress".
'As if I wasn't embarrassed enough…' I thought, and followed him through the door.
DPOV
It happened as soon as she entered the hall. The world seemed to have stopped.
She looked beautiful.
Her hair was caught in the back of her head, and a few strings of it fell around her face, framing it beautifully. Her dark maroon dress was long and fitted her body perfectly. The accentuated V-neckline, however, seemed to make her uncomfortable because she kept pulling the dress up. I, on the other hand, thought she looked perfect.
My eyes locked with hers and she smiled at me from across the room. I took that as my queue to approach her. Oh wait, approach them.
"Hello, Damon. Haven't seen you in a while. How are you?" Stefan said to me.
"Hello little brother. Just fine and you?" He nodded courtly. Trust my brother to be formal with his own family. "And how is my beautiful Elena?" I said turning to her.
She blushed and my eyes softened.
"I'm fine Damon, thank you. Are you here by yourself?"
"Yes, but I've already seen the little witch and vampire Barbie around here somewhere".
She laughed. "They have names, Damon".
I shrugged. From the corner of my eyes I saw Alaric calling Stefan. He waved at him and turned to Elena.
"I'm going to talk to Alaric for a while. Will you be okay?". His eyes lingered on me as if contemplating me as a danger to her. I couldn't help the smirk that came to my face.
She smiled. "I'm not a baby, Stefan, and besides, Damon is going to keep me company, won't he?"
Even if I didn't want to, I wouldn't be able to resist that smile. I groaned inside.
"Of course".
Stefan nodded, gave her a chaste kiss and left.
"So…"
SPOV
As I talked to Alaric I looked the room. The lighting was soft and appropriate, the music was not too loud and it was keeping in tone with the formality of the evening, and the gold garments and decorations mixed with the lights gave the idea that the entire hall was in some sort of permanent twilight.
"Mrs. Lockwood really outdid herself on this one"
"Yeah, I think it serves as a distraction from all the drama as of her husband's death" Alaric said, also admiring the salon.
I nodded as I took another glance at the huge room, my eyes locked with Elena's and she smiled at me. I smiled back and watched her turning back to Damon to resume the conversation.
There was something weird about Damon that night. He usually gave out quirky remarks or offended me or both me and Elena in any way but tonight he was different, almost as if he was trying to contain himself…He lifted his hand to brush away a few hair-locks that had come down to cover her beautiful face, and though Elena didn't notice, and although it happened so fast that it was almost imperceptible, I saw his hand lingering on her cheek a little bit longer…
"Did you see it?" I heard Alaric ask.
I looked at him and he too was looking at Elena and Damon. I doubted he had seen what I saw, I wasn't even too sure myself. "What?"
"Damon…he likes her. He likes Elena" he turned his head in my direction but kept looking at them. "For quite some time".
"How long…? How do you know?" my voice had gotten caught in my throat so it came out a little harsh and made Alaric jump a little.
"I noticed it when you were stuck in that house full of vampires from the tomb. When we were planning on saving you he just kept his gaze on her, warning her and trying to protect her."
"Plus it's not that hard to see" I heard someone say. Caroline was approaching us, with Bonnie by her side.
"It's pretty much obvious if you pay attention" Caroline continued. I was stunned at how oblivious I had been about this. I wasn't worried, I trusted Elena. But still, to have my brother fall in love with my girlfriend wasn't exactly ideal. Especially having Katherine in mind.
DPOV
"You look beautiful tonight"
She blushed so hard her cheeks resembled the color of the ponche in her hand. I smiled.
"Damon, stop that. God knows how I wish I had brought my trusty jeans and sneakers. It's easy for you with your vampire abilities to outstand great amounts of pain, but seriously, these are feet killing machines!" She pointed to her black shoes. "I mean seriously who comes up with these things? Maybe I'll write them a letter! "Dear moron-"
As she went on with her ramble I found myself completely mesmerized by every feature in her face. Her eyes sparkled with amusement as she imagined the enormous insult possibilities to direct to the shoe manufactory. Her cheeks were still a little bit red from the previous embarrassment, and her lips were having some sort of hypnotic effect on me.
She looked to the right and I saw her smile at Stefan and my chest tightened. As she turned back to me, a small lock of her hair had come to cover her face partially and I was finding that quite annoying because it was depriving me of a full look at her lovely features. I reached out hand grabbed it, putting it behind her hear. I gave myself the pleasure of lingering my hand a little bit longer on her face. Her skin was hot and I loved the feel of it against my hand. Taking some serious control, I pulled my hand away and continued to listen to her.
"Hey do you want to go outside for a moment? I'm feeling a little dizzy" she asked suddenly.
"Dizzy?" 'she didn't drank that much' I thought. "Are you okay? Do you want to lie down?"
She laughed softly.
"No. I just need to get some air. I'm feeling hot"
"Yes, you do!" I smiled mischievously ramming my eyes over her body and she blushed furiously.
"Damon, stop it!" she said smiling. "I just want to catch some fresh air".
"Of course, my dear Elena" I said with the same smile still planted annoyingly on my face – what was wrong with me?
"Shall we?" and I offered my arm. She took it and we went into the balcony.
It was a beautiful night. The sky was clean and a few stars were visible, the almost full moon was bright and standing right above us.
In my arm, I felt Elena shiver lightly and I quickly removed my jacket and offered it to her.
"Thanks" she said smiling and willingly putting it over her arms.
"Ah" she said "Much better!"
I smiled in agreement. It really was more pleasant outside than inside, the cool breeze was not so strong that it would make one feel uncomfortable and the company made the night that much better. Well, at least from my point of view.
I looked at Elena, she looked even more beautiful in the moonlight with her dark hair waving in the wind and her delicate expression as she took in the majestic view. I could tell she was talking to me but I couldn't quite figure out what she was saying. I was suddenly very interested in the way her lips moved when she talked, in the way her eyes formed an open window into her soul, in the way I loved her.
Unconsciously I felt myself taking a step towards her, closing the small distance between us. She made no move to lean away or retreat, and though it could've been because she was trying to get my attention to answer her question, I interpreted it as a chance to act. I was so close. I could feel her accelerated breathing on me and for a split second I saw realization flashing through her eyes but I couldn't stop myself…I leaned in.
EPOV
'Yep, I'm definitely going to catch a cold' I said as I felt myself shiver in the cool breeze, despite being already covered with Damon's jacket. Feeling my nose tingling again, I took a deep breath.
"This is really amazing" I said as I took in the wonderful view in front of me. Despite being dark I could see where the mountains in the distance ended and where the starry sky began, I could hear the water running through the stream heading for the waterfall ahead. The city of Mystic Falls could be seen in the distance, as this balcony overlooked the entire valley and I found myself liking this place a little bit more. The cool breeze reminded me of the night spent with Damon in Georgia, drinking ourselves into oblivion. I chuckled at the memory.
"Hey Damon, do you remember our trip to Georgia? Well, it was more like you kidnapping me. Doesn't this remind you of it?...Damon?"
Something was wrong. I could tell he was looking at me but didn't hear a word I just said. 'Is he feeling alright? Is he going to snap at someone?'It had been a while since he went on a rampage, I was scared just seeing him like this, with his eyes glazed with a feeling I'd never seen in them.
"Damon, hello?".
No response. He just kept looking at me. For a minute I thought he was drunk, but his vampire system could endure two whole bottles of scotch and this party's only alcoholic source was the ponche and some champagne.
He took a step closer to me and then it hit me. 'Oh my God. Is he going to kiss me?' I could hear the warning bells going off in my head but my body froze instantly at that realization.
He took a deep breath and in the next second his lips were on mine.
It wasn't forced, or harsh. It was gentle and sweet. His lips brushed mine with such softness but I could tell from his quick breathing that he was controlling himself. He applied more pressure, but kept it gentle. My body made no move to retreat, my mind was empty and I cursed myself when I felt my eyes closing slowly.
He embraced me, pulling me closer to him and in that moment, I could feel all of his emotions pouring into me.
'Stefan'. That was all it took. As the thought of Stefan flew into my mind I took once step back, liberating myself from Damon's embrace.
That's it for now. I hope you liked it so far!
Reviews and critiques appreciated =)