The Noble Path

A/N: This is my first try in multi chapter fic. I hope you like it. Let me know with reviews :) And don't hesitate to point out any grammatical mistake. This story takes place towards the end of season two. D/E

Disclaimer: I do not own Vampire Diaries.

He looks so beautiful.

That was the first thought that came into Elena's mind when she found Damon. With Gone with the Wind as a backdrop, he looked completely out of place, yet somehow entirely blended. Partly because he was originally from that era, but mostly because he was as miserable as the warworn soldiers looked right now in the movie. His disheveled clothes clung to his body with perspiration. His crimson eyes only a breadth away from turning veined, giving him a tragic beauty look, tragic, but perilous to keen eyes.

Elena took a breath and ran towards him. But as she progressed, her speed decreased. She didn't want to overwhelm him. But then he turned his back on her. Has he not noticed me? Frowning, she jogged towards him but came to a halt as she saw him turn back at her, now looking at her. No, not her, her. He was imagining her as Katherine. Please God, not now, please.

"Damon?" she tried soothingly, cringing how rough her voice sounded to her own ears.

"Katherine?" His eyes madly went over her appearance, God, he looked so lost. Elena wanted to cry.

"No, I'm not… I'm Elena," she almost felt guilty to deny him.

"Elena?" the way he said her name, it seemed like a foreign language to him. She bit her lip, now was not the time to feel morose over that, she placated herself. Her eyes widened as she saw his eyes flash, a primal hunger reflecting from them. He moved, taking her to the nearest tree in a blink. He must be really weak. Because Elena barely felt the friction of gravel with her shoes, normally it would be too fast to notice. The bark roughly pressed against her back, scratching her skin with its own prickly body. But Elena barely cared. She looked at the berserk man in front of her. He looked at her with so much hatred that she couldn't help squirm a little. But that small rustle must've reached his ear because he loosened his grip around her arms a little, but held her nonetheless.

"Elena," he repeated. She nodded madly, eager to make him believe it wasn't anyone else but her, just her. She felt so outraged, how could he not recognize her? How could he mistake her for Katherine? Did he always go for the looks? She thought angrily. But her insidious anger simmered down as soon as she heard his next words.

"You hurt me, Katherine," he said in a daze. "I loved you, and you hurt me, you threw it in my face," his voice choked around the words.

"No, no, I'm not her, Damon." Elena almost groveled, forgetting for a moment that he was not sane right now. It was just his mind that was in a whirlwind. He will be fine as soon as he gets the cure in his system.

"It's Elena, I'm Elena," she pleaded to him.

And for a tiny second he seemed to believe her. He looked at her just the way he did when he asked her if he could trust Stefan. That thought made her suffering more bitter. But then his face twisted and he howled in the thick air.

"No," he hissed, his grip again tightening on her in a bruising hold. But he didn't seem to notice. "You're lying. You are Katherine."

"Damon, please..." Elena weakly tried.

"You are a liar, sweetheart, you always were," Damon hushed her in a seductive voice. He leaned toward her neck, softly inhaling her sweet fear, mixed with adrenaline rush. The combination always excited him. He pulled away her hair from her swan neck, completely baring her to his canines. He wanted her fear, he needed her begging. But still, he wouldn't forgive her. He would make her hurt the same way she wounded his heart. He snaked his hand from her arm to the back of her neck and harshly tilted her head.

Elena remembered the vervain syringe in her jacket pocket. But she couldn't bring herself to pull it out just yet. Stefan had warned her about the situation when he gave it to her. He had also said not to hesitate, and definitely not to trust Damon, or fall for his vulnerable likeness. But she knew she won't be able to put that thing in him when he's already suffering like this. And oddly enough, she trusted him enough not to damage anything permanently.

"I'll make you feel what you did to me," Damon hissed. And then a sharp cry tore into the air and Damon realized he's pierced her skin with his razor teeth. The ambrosia liquid hit his taste buds and he moaned. The sensation was like sweet heaven, heady but not the way he remembered. The bitterness was not present. Instead, it was something else, something he had once vowed himself to protect.

"Elena." His eyes almost popping out as he stretched them to an extent. In other people's eyes he would've looked scary as hell. But Elena knew he was the scared one. He thought he had just lost her again. She wanted to sooth him, but she was a little wobbly herself. He didn't take much of her blood. But the sudden fear of fangs so close to her neck had her panicked, no thanks to Klaus.

"It's me, Damon," she whimpered in relief.

"Oh, God, Elena, I hurt you. No, no," he scrambled, still looking hazed but seemingly out of immediate lash out.

"No, you didn't," she assured him with a squeeze in his shoulder. "Let's get you home."

But he was falling over her. She quickly put her hands on his shoulders to keep him steady. But his weight warned them both to knock down. So she let herself fall with him. They went on their knees, her hands supporting him and protecting him at the same time. His head fell onto her chest. She comforted him in the only way she could do, rubbing his back with one hand and pulling his head in a more cozy position into the crook of her neck.

It was one heck of a stupid thing to do, especially when he was in such a wild state. But she stopped caring the moment he looked at her with recognition in his eyes. She knew he wouldn't hurt her physically, at least not more than she could handle.

She looked around at their surroundings. Caroline's car should be nearby. Damon had stopped moving. It caused her a chilling feeling. What if it's too late? What if he's already gone? She shook her head. She couldn't think about that, right now she had to find the car and get him to the Boarding House, as soon as possible.