Elena made her way up to the Salvatore Boarding House and once she reached the grand front door, she stopped. She stood on the doorstep, hand clenched in a fist, hovering in front of the door ready to knock – but something was stopping her. She'd be telling herself every day since the ... incident, that she should go and see Stefan, make sure he was OK. However, she was only now realizing that just because should go and see him, it didn't mean she wanted to.
She stood contemplating whether or not to go through with the visit when suddenly the door in front of her sprung open. She lowered her hand from its position in front of the now empty door frame and stared at the person that now filled her vision. Damon.
"Although it's always a pleasure to see you, Elena," Damon began, an expression clear on his face that showed he was, in fact, genuinely happy to see her, "...is there a reason you are loitering on my doorstep?"
"I came to see Stefan." Elena replied after a short hesitation, as if Damon's sudden presence had caused her to forget her reason for being there in the first place.
"Well, I assure you that what I'm about to tell you has nothing whatsoever to do with the fact that it pains me terribly that you never come all the way out here to see me," Damon said, sarcasm dripping from every word, "...but you can't see Stefan, not today."
Despite the fact that a few moments ago Elena couldn't even make up her mind whether or not she wanted to see him, the fact that Damon had just told her she couldn't made her determined that she would.
"Sorry, Damon, but last time I checked, it wasn't up to you who I see and when. So, if you'll excuse me..." Elena said, before attempting to push past Damon and make her way into the house. Damon didn't move, and although she knew there was no way in hell she was getting past him if he was determined to stop her, she gave a second push, a little harder this time.
"Actually," he began, side-stepping to block Elena's attempt at squeezing through the gap between Damon and the door frame, "... the fact that he is sitting in there surrounded by empty blood bags –which, may I point out where not empty when I left this morning – would imply that he has re-discovered a liking for human blood. That means," Damon said, taking a step toward Elena, forcing her to step back off the step and further away from the house, "...that it is no longer safe for you to be within biting distance of him. So scram," he finished, flicking his wrist at her in the direction of her car as if she were some unwanted visitor.
Elena stood for a moment, stunned by what Damon had just told her.
"Oh my God, this is all my fault." Elena said, her voice barely a whisper. "I never should have forced him to take my blood. I've destroyed everything that he's worked so hard become. I can't believe I've done this!" Elena began to shake and her voice became rushed and panicked. "I have to see him. Damon, please let me see him!" she pleaded, but it did no good.
"I'm sorry, Elena but I can't. It's too risky. Going back to human blood after so long is like starting the whole transition process all over again. Everything he feels for you is intensified so much more than you can ever imagine. There's a pretty good chance that if you go in there he'll confuse his feelings of love for you with the desire for your blood, and that's not going to end well for anyone."
"But you'll be there-" Elena began before he cut her off.
"Elena, he must've downed about six people-worth of blood within the last hour. There's no way even I'll be strong enough to hold him off. Just go home and I'll call you when I've got him back under control."
Elena was getting ready to argue her case again when, suddenly, Damon placed a finger on her slightly parted lips.
"Don't argue, Elena. Just go." Damon said, his voice soft yet assertive.
With a sigh of defeat, Elena turned and reluctantly made her way back towards her car. She turned to look over her shoulder and saw Damon making his way back inside, closing the door firmly behind him.
***
As Elena lay in bed that night, her mind raced with thoughts of what was happening up at the Salvatore Boarding House. The thought of Stefan turning into everything he despised about his nature because of her was almost too much to bear. She sat up, flicked on the lamp beside her and reached for her journal. The pen lingered above the blank paper, but suddenly Elena found herself blocked; unable to put down any of what she was feeling. After a few minutes, she slammed the small book shut and tossed it onto the dresser beside her along with the pen. She pulled her covers up and off of her, climbing out of bed and attempting to get dressed as quietly as possible – aware that the thud of the book hitting the dresser a few moments ago may have been enough to wake Jeremy or Jenna.
Once she was dressed, he headed down the stairs and out the front door, as stealth as she could manage. She drove directly to the Boarding House, her eyes never straying from the road in front of her.
When she arrived, she noticed the house was in complete darkness, except for the living room from which a soft glow radiated. She made her way up the path and – praying with all her might that Damon hadn't decided to become security conscience and locked the door – twisted the handle and pushed.
The door creaked weakly and Elena stepped inside. She walked through the dim hallway, the light from the next room illuminating it only enough for her to see where she was going.
She rounded the corner and cautiously stepped into the living room to see Stefan sat on the couch, elbows leaning on his knees and his head in his hands.
"Stefan?" Elena called lightly, trying not to startle him.
"Elena," Stefan replied, lifting his head and smiling at her sweetly.
Elena stood for a few moments, frozen in place before a smile crept onto her face too.
"Where's Damon?" she asked, looking around as if she expected him to be hiding behind the door or under the couch.
"He left about an hour ago to go for some more blood." Stefan replied nervously, as if he was afraid Elena would judge him.
Elena nodded in acknowledgement and then they stood in silence for a few minutes before Elena broke it.
"Stefan, I'm so sorry," she said rushing towards him, her arms open to wrap them around him, "I never meant for any of this to happen. I was just trying to help." Elena sobbed as he held her close to him and she sobbed on his shoulder.
"It's OK, Elena. It's not your fault." Stefan consoled, burying his face into her hair. As he took a deep breath, he inhaled Elena's sweet scent – a mix of a clean smell, like soap, and a fruity fragrance, like strawberries. The strongest smell, however, was that of the blood that ran warm and thick below her smooth, perfect skin. As he breathed it in again, the veins in face became prominent and his eyes turned blood shot. A low growl escaped his now clenched jaw and Elena stiffened in his arms. She lifted her head and looked him straight in the eyes. They showed nothing but blackness. She could tell he wasn't Stefan anymore, at least not a version she had ever met before, except that night in the woods when he snapped at her.
Elena loosened her grip on Stefan and slid from his arms, backing away from the creature that was transforming in front of her.
"Stefan," she pleaded, as though trying to find him again within the blackness as tears began to gather behind her eyes, but it did no good. He began to start towards her, and she backed up hastily, tripping over the upturned corner of the rug below her feet and she fell to the ground.
"Stefan, please don't!" she begged as she scrambled around on the floor, desperately trying to escape him.
Realizing the severity of the danger she was in, she did what she always did when she was scared...
"DAMON!" she screamed, over and over again until her throat throbbed.
As Stefan stood mere inches from her, he growled a loud and harsh sound and lunged for her. Elena pressed her eyes shut and waited for the heavy contact of his body on hers and the undoubtedly searing pain that was due to follow. However, there was nothing and after what seemed like hours she opened her eyes to see Damon standing in front of her, grasping Stefan by the throat. He lifted him until Stefan's feet no longer touched the ground.
"I'm going to count to three and then I'm going to put you down. If you so much as look at her the wrong way, never mind touch her, I will kill you."
Although Elena knew this wasn't the first time they had threatened each other with death, she was sure he had never been more prepared to actually follow through with it, and apparently so was Stefan. He stopped struggling against Damon's steel grip and slowly the veins on his face began to fade and his eyes returned to normal. Damon slowly began to release his grip and when he finally let go, Stefan dropped to the floor in a heap.
Elena clambered to her feet hastily and Damon turned behind him to help her up.
"Elena, are you OK? Are you hurt?" Damon asked, worry evident in his voice as he scanned her shaking body for injuries.
Elena shook her head weakly before whispering "Thank You" to Damon.
"For you, anything," he replied, slightly more audible.
As Stefan began to get to his feet, Elena found herself instinctively gripping onto Damon's upper arm and cowering behind him.
"Elena, I'm so sorry," Stefan began, taking a step toward Elena, causing her grip on Damon to tighten.
"Can I just go home?" Elena asked Damon, pulling him with her to the door.
"Sure," Damon replied, drawing his eyes off Stefan and turning with her out the door. They walked quickly towards Elena's car and Damon opened the passenger door for her, helping her in. When Elena lifted her eyes from buckling her seatbelt, Damon was already in the seat beside her, key in the ignition. They travelled in silence, Damon eyes diverting from the road more often than was probably safe to check she hadn't passed out.
When they arrived at Elena's house, Damon again was out his seat and opening the door for Elena before she even realized the car had stopped. She took his hand as she climbed out the car and turned to face him as he closed the door behind her.
"Thank you... again. You really didn't need to save me, especially since you warned me before, so I really appreciate it." Elena said, her voice a low whisper as she looked up at him from under long, dark, wet lashes.
"Well, like I said, anything for you, Elena," and he smiled down at her, stroking her cheek lightly and catching a single tear that rolled down her flushed cheeks.
They stood staring at each other for a moment, before Elena pushed up on her tip toes, placed her hands lightly on Damon's leather-clad shoulders and pressed they gentlest of kisses on his lips. She held to kiss a little longer than she probably should have, but neither of them seemed to mind. She broke away slowly and with once last smile, whispered, "See you later, Damon," and began to make her way up the path towards her house.
As he watched her open the door and disappear inside, he couldn't but wish "later" would hurry up and get here. What he didn't know was that Elena was thinking the exact same thing...