I think I'm drowning, asphyxiated; I wanna break this spell that you've created. You're something beautiful; a contradiction. I wanna play this game, I want the friction. You will be the death of me. Yeah you will be the death of me. Bury it, I won't let you bury it, I won't let you smother it; I won't let you murder it. Our time is running out, our time is running out. You can't push it underground; you can't stop it screaming out. – Muse; Time is running out.
Kisses; sweet kisses over and over again. So many that Elena Gilbert lost count; lost herself in the beauty and the feelings that her boyfriend; her one true love; Stefan Salvatore was giving her. She loved him, loved him more than anything and anyone in the world. She would give up anything for Stefan Salvatore. Well, almost anything. There did seem to be one thing to she just could not give up. Even if she really did want to. She was annoyed now; why was her mind wandering from Stefan? Or more importantly, why was her mind wandering to him? She kissed Stefan harder, melting her body into his and forcing all other thoughts out of her mind; all thoughts of him out of her mind. He pulled away from her and cradled her in his arms, whispering sweet nothings into her ear. She loved mornings in the boarding house. Mornings with Stefan. Every morning had been like this; every morning since she came back to life. Came back from the dead. She found herself not wanting to leave Stefan's arms; she was scared that they would be ripped apart again, but Stefan had to go to school, a luxury that Elena did not have. You see, everyone thought she was dead; her family thought she was dead. All she really had now was Stefan and it got increasingly harder to let him walk out of the boarding house in the morning and head on out to school and his seemingly normal life. For two weeks, the two weeks that had passed since she was reborn, she had watched Stefan walk out of the door in the morning, and every time he did, she was overwhelmed by loneliness.
She watched as Stefan hopped out of bed and busied himself getting ready. Of course, when she used to attend school, she'd hated going; hated waking up early and the rush to leave the house on time. Now she craved it, she craved the normality of going to school and learning. She craved the normality of being able to leave the boarding house and see people on the street, being able to argue with her aunt about curfew and embrace her younger sister. She was happy to be back though, she was happy that she'd been given a second chance to love Stefan and not let anything or anyone get in the way. Especially not him.
She was brought out of her thoughts when Stefan placed a kiss on her forehead, said goodbye then headed out of the door, leaving her alone. Alone with her thoughts. She let her mind run wild, let herself be immersed by thoughts of him. She wondered if he was still in Fells Church. She doubted it somehow, now that the threat from Klaus was over, he probably didn't feel obligated to remain in Fells Church; to remain with her. Not that she wanted him to of course; there was absolutely nothing between her and Damon. Well, almost nothing. Maybe there had been the tiniest of sparks. They were friends; they couldn't not be after all they'd been through together, and she missed him. She hadn't seen him for two weeks, it had been two weeks since Damon had left them sitting in that clearing after wrapping his leather jacket around her shoulders and walking away with the simple parting words of, "It's a cold night". He hadn't come to the boarding house to see how she was, he hadn't come to talk to her, and she hadn't seen hide or hair of him for two whole weeks! It shocked her because, before, Damon had always appeared whenever she was alone, without Stefan, and in these last two weeks, she'd been without Stefan all day and yet Damon had stayed away, like he'd never been there in the first place. He was probably long gone by now, living it up in some massive city, bleeding some random blonde. She knew Damon was never satisfied with Fells Church, had only come here in the first place to bring Stefan misery and now that there was no threat and nothing important happening, what was to keep Damon from hightailing it out of there? Before all of this she would have said her, she was the thing keeping Damon here, but after two weeks of silence, she guessed she was probably wrong and Damon was gone.
She sat up slowly and started getting dressed, it just wouldn't do for her to lie in bed all day and mope. No, she had to carry on living… even if everyone else in the town did think she was dead. She frowned into the closet, she seriously needed some new clothes, everything was either worn and holey, or Bonnies and Meredith's hand-me-downs, a massive disadvantage of being classed as dead; you become way behind with fashion. She sighed, and then shoved on a pair of pale skinny jeans with distressed holes in them and a light pink top. She walked up to the full length mirror and grimaced at her reflection; who would have thought that Elena Gilbert, Robert 's fashion guru, would look like this? Hair overgrown and hanging to her waist in messy waves, no make-up and wearing tattered clothes. Now she was ready, she felt like she should go out. She hated being like this, she hated being cooped up in the boarding house, getting ready everyday but never actually going anywhere or doing anything. A few months ago, Elena had been the social butterfly of the town, now she felt like a social leper, with no one to keep her company but Stefan, who was at school for the majority of the day anyway.
She knew what she would do; she'd go for a walk in the Old Wood, which surrounded the boarding house. No one ever went in this part of the wood so she wouldn't bump into anyone, and she could get out of the boarding house for a while and get some fresh air. It was perfect. She jumped up off Stefan's bed where she had been slumped and started walking downstairs to the front door.
"Mrs Flowers! I'm just going to go out for a walk in the woods"
"Okay, Elena dear. See you when you get back"
She grabbed the leather jacket hanging on a coat hook by the door and shrugged it on. It was his leather jacket; the leather jacket she had been wearing secretly whenever Stefan was at school, Damon's heady, sweet scent made her feel less lonely.
"Bye" She smiled, slamming the door behind her and inhaling deep breaths of air.
She started into the woods at a quick pace, enjoying the feeling of the spring wind hitting her face. She had missed this, missed being out in the open and not cooped up in the boarding house with old Mrs Flowers as he sole companion. She walked through the forest ducking under low branches and stepping over fallen logs, enjoying the physical activity. It was beautiful in the woods; with the sun shining through the canopy of leaves and the mossy green that seemed to coat every surface. She could hear birds singing sweetly and the sounds of nature all around her. She carried on walking, a content smile on her face; everything was so peaceful here in the woods.
Elena had just stepped into a clearing when something changed. The air around her seemed to have changed. She could no longer hear the sound of the birds and the other animals, the spring breeze was no longer hitting her softly and the whole atmosphere seemed to have stilled, frozen. Elena didn't breathe, didn't blink; something was off about this place, this place where everything was silent and power was buzzing in the air; dark power. The whole place was stilled and Elena didn't dare move in fear of breaking the spell that had been weaved in that desolate clearing. The hairs on the back of her neck lifted as she felt a warning; she didn't know what it was, but something was telling her to run, to hide, to leave this clearing right now, or she'd be dead. Something was wrong with this place, the whole clearing, the air she was breathing, everything seemed to be tinted a dark colour, as though a midnight aura was surrounding the place, calling it home…
The answer hit her like a bus.
"Damon" she whispered, the name fell out of her mouth on a breath.
"And so the mouse comes searching for the cat" A voice, that voice spoke to her. A voice that was like silk sliding across satin, a voice that made something in the core of her being stir.
She turned to face him and was struck speechless by the sight of him. Two weeks without seeing Damon had somehow made her forget just how beautiful he was, dangerously beautiful. Yes, that was right; everything about Damon screamed danger at her, especially today. He was like he always had been; compact, almost skinny really and slightly shorter than his brother. Everything about him was the same, but somehow different. The creamy whiteness of his porcelain skin seemed almost translucent today, contrasting beautifully with the raven hair the framed his face. His features were the same; perfect, almost feminine in their beauty, but it was easy to see that Damon Salvatore was all man. Her eyes slunk lower and she was surprised to find that they were not greeted with Damon's usual black top; they were instead met with more of that translucent skin. She hated to say it, but Damon had the most beautiful body she had ever come across. He was lean and lithe, his taught, snowy skin was stretched over sinewy muscles and Elena's heart skipped a beat at the few dark hairs on his chest and the line that disappeared into his jeans; his dangerously low hung jeans, that seemed to hug him perfectly, drawing the eyes to one place in particular. Elena drew her eyes away quickly; ashamed in case Damon had noticed the way she had been gawking at him.
"So what brings you here Elena? Business or pleasure?" He drawled, his dark eyes locking with hers lazily.
"N-n, no, I, I wasn't looking for you or anything, I was just- just taking a walk" She stammered, defending herself a little too fiercely. Hadn't that really been the reason she was walking in the forest though? If she told the truth, she had been keeping an eye out for him, hoping to catch a glimpse of those infamous midnight eyes.
Damon cocked an eyebrow, looking as though he didn't believe a word of it.
" I think it must be pleasure" He mused, acting as though he hadn't heard her comment "We always have gotten along like a house on fire" he winked at her.
"I- I" Elena started but couldn't finish, for some reason being in Damon's presence was making her tongue-tied " I came to give you this back" She finished lamely, gesturing to Damon's leather jacket.
He ignored her comment completely, shrugging it off.
"You know Elena, you shouldn't be wandering around in the woods on your own; you never know what's lurking in the darkness"
Elena shivered at the slightly menacing tone to his voice; it laced his silken voice like poison. She felt like something unsaid was hanging in the air, something dangerous. She had thought that her and Damon were past this; that she was past being afraid of him, she was wrong. She was scared as hell. This was Damon at the top of his game, cold indifference and unhindered perfection. He was gracefully slouched against a tree watching her, his eyes flicking to her neck, examining her as if she was his favourite food. She knew, for a fact that she was. Elena didn't say anything, she couldn't have even if she wanted to; she felt like she was in a trance, like she was under the same spell that Damon had weaved through the clearing. She was completely at Damon's mercy; feeling as though if she even tried to move, her legs would give way and she'd end up sprawled on the floor. Damon seemed to spy her weakness, her helplessness and flashed her a smile; a smile that unnerved her with its cold beauty. He lazily started moving towards her, stalking like a panther on the prowl, all Elena could do was suck in a breath as he crept closer and closer to her.
He walked around her in a circle, examining her whole body, making Elena feel vulnerable, soft and easily hurt. Elena's body was not functioning properly, she couldn't seem to move, she couldn't seem to speak, she was trapped; trapped in Damon's gaze. He continued stalking around her making Elena feel more and more anxious. Damon could do anything to her, even under normal circumstances when her body was under her own control she was still as weak as an ant compared to Damon, and today, she couldn't even speak to him, make him see sense, make him not do whatever he was obviously planning.
"But no, Elena Gilbert would never abandon her one true love to come and see the other brother, the bad brother, would she? He spoke softly, almost whimsically.
"Or maybe" He was up close now, his clothing almost, but not quite touching hers "You've finally decided to ditch the feeble twilight and surrender to true darkness, surrender to me"
His hands slid up into her hair, running his fingers through it and tugging it softly.
"It was many and many a year ago, in a kingdom by the sea, that a maiden lived there whom you may know, by the name of Annabel-Lee, and this maiden she lived with no other thought than to love and be loved by me."
She shivered as he recited softly in her ear, his voice barely a breath. It was the second time he'd recited Edgar Allen Poe to her, the second time that her knees almost gave out at the sound of poetry leaving his talented mouth. He definitely was sin personified and she was so tempted, would it really be so very wrong? No, a wicked voice in her mind whispered; a voice that sounded an awful lot like Damon. Maybe she should just surrender; she didn't doubt that Damon would bring her the utmost pleasur- NO! Stefan she loved Stefan!
She jumped away from Damon like a frightened colt, for a moment completely in control of her body. She tried to step back, to get away from Damon and the temptation of his gorgeous lips. Her back hit a tree, ruining her escape. Damon seemed as though he'd been prepared for her escape attempt and was rounding on her again; once more standing so close to her, but not touching. He braced his arms either side of her head against the tree, his eyes once again meeting hers, drawing her into their black depths until once again she was falling into them.
"Damon" she whispered "I Love Stefan, what about Stefan?
"I don't give a damn about Stefan" he responded, running his nose up her cheek "But if you're so concerned about my little brother, then how about this? I'll make you a deal Elena. A small donation of your blood whenever I wish it and I'll leave Stefan alone, I will not torment him anymore. Anyway Elena, what's so bad about it? No one would ever have to know; it could be our little secret" The last bit was whispered so seductively in her ear that Elena had to bite her lip.
She could do it, she could effectively end the feud between the brothers, well; the physical feud anyway. She could protect Stefan, keep Damon away from him, make sure that no harm ever came to him again and all she had to do was give Damon a small something; a small donation of her blood. It wasn't like she was going to miss it anyway, Damon probably wouldn't take that much, Stefan never did. She couldn't help feeling like she was making a deal with the devil and that she was just pulling herself further into the tangled web that Damon had woven between the three of them.
"Give me your word Damon" She breathed "Swear it, swear that if I agree to your deal that you keep your end; you stay away from Stefan"
He flashed her that white lightening smile and something told her that she had no idea what she was getting herself into, that she had effectively just put herself completely at the mercy of Damon Salvatore. Damon was coming even closer now, if that was possible, but he still kept just enough distance between them that they weren't touching, that his bare chest was not meeting the leather and cotton she was wearing. She wished that he would just close the gap between them, that he would just touch her; the tension was killing her. He wanted her to say it, he wanted her to submit and surrender. He wanted to see it in her eyes, the moment of defeat, the moment when she would give herself to him. He wanted her to say it, she didn't want to say it, but Damon was the greatest manipulator of all.
"Touch me Damon" And there it was, the moment of submission.
Damon inched forward, inched forward until her back was flat against the tree and his bare chest was pressed against her, her clothing the only thing between their bare skin. Elena's head was whirling now, whirling with the decision she'd just made and what she'd agreed to mixed with anticipation of what was to come and if she knew Damon, he wouldn't wait long to collect her payment to him. She placed her hands on his chest to steady herself; he felt so real beneath her fingertips, real and warm and solid, the only solid thing in her spinning world. Damon removed her hands from his chest and threaded their fingers together, in a handhold that was both gentle, but inescapable; not that Elena really wanted to escape anyway. He brought his lips down to her ear and she could feel his searing breath hitting her skin, making her shiver despite the heat.
"What do you want me to do now Elena?"
She didn't mean to say what she did next. She knew what Damon was expecting, what was expecting herself to say. Bite me. That was what she was supposed to say, that was her part of the deal, but what escaped her lips next surprised the both of them; her probably more than Damon.
"Kiss me" Damon pulled back slightly and studied her face for a second; she could tell that he was caught off guard, hell; she was shocked at what she had said. But his surprise didn't last long; a wicked smile appeared on his face, a smile that he had perfected over an eternity of nights. He once again brought his lips back to her ear.
"Well this is an interesting turn of events, though not all unexpected" One more flash of that smile and his lips were on hers.
The world seemed to have stopped as his lips touched hers. He kissed her violently, hungrily, in a way that was so completely Damon. She kissed him back just as enthusiastically; he slammed her back against the tree and gripped the backs of her thighs, lifting her legs to wrap around his waist. Elena couldn't help but moan into his mouth as his hands left the backs of her thighs as travelled to her buttocks, Damon was anything but chaste. His tongue coaxed his way into her mouth and she couldn't help but feel like the inexperienced school girl that she had never acted like but was deep down. Damon was just so damn good at this, she hated to admit it, but he was better that this than Stefan. Stefan's kisses were sweet and made her feel loved, but Damon obviously knew how to make any woman swoon in pleasure, including her. He seemed to know exactly what she wanted as his hands travelled to her hair and softly crushed the ends, knowingly tangling his fingers in the blonde mass. She would do anything now, anything Damon wanted her to do, she was broken down by kisses and her mind was as tangled her hair.
Damon's lips left her mouth much too soon for Elena's liking, she felt lost without the contact and although his lips were still on her –nibbling her cheek- she missed the feeling of his lips against hers. So this must be what it feels like for Damon's donors, she felt a shot of jealously, no random women deserved this, this intense pleasure. She locked her legs even tighter around his waist and buried her head into his shoulder, whimpering as he nipped her flesh. Suddenly she was back on her feet away from the tree and Damon was bending her back, she saw the light that was shining through the canopy of leaves hit Damon's hair, making it shine with rainbow lights and appear liquid soft. Damon's face quickly disappeared from her vision as he buried his head into her neck, travelling down to nip the space just above her collar bone, earning a drawn out moan from Elena. His lips travelled back upwards; onto her neck. She could feel him searching for it, the place that he was going to bite, –no doubt the place where the blood spilled fastest- the place that he was going to claim. He paused slightly above the spot that Stefan had chosen, and then kissed it, he teased that spot with his lips, with his tongue, nibbling it softly and sucking, making Elena's eyes roll in pleasure. He bit down sharply, sharper than Elena had expected, and started to suck. It had hurt at first, in the moment when he had bit down, it had hurt more than when Stefan had bit her; Damon's fangs seemed to sink deeper than Stefan's, seemed to be sharper. The pain went almost instantly and she was met with a pleasure that made her legs give way. She slumped against Damon, allowing him to support her full weight. She saw the comets and the stars, the nova and the whole universe. She felt like she was floating on pure sunlight, sunlight that infiltrated her body leaving no space untouched. Damon filled her whole being.
She felt herself fading, her eyes becoming heavy and her body becoming even more languid. She panicked slightly; she could feel herself slipping away, Stefan had never taken this much from her. Her mind was greeted with a thought.
I'm not Saint Stefan, I'm Damon and right now darling, I'm hungry.
Time seemed to be passing very slowly now, everything seemed slow and relaxed. Her muscles were so tired and she felt like she should just give in; give in to the velvety darkness that was pooling around her and the pleasure and feelings that were filling her body; cushioning her mind. She felt as though somewhere far off someone was singing a lullaby, an irresistible siren's song that was imploring her to sleep, to just let herself drift, to surrender to the darkness, just once. Elena submitted, and let the sweet darkness that was now surrounding her take her as its own.
She woke slowly, feeling as though she just couldn't open her eyes. Everything seemed to be so much of an effort and she was still so tired. She could feel a forest floor under her back and under usual circumstances, this would be uncomfortable, but right now, it felt like the softest of feather mattresses. Everything was so comfortable and she felt so peaceful and relaxed, she couldn't remember much, not even her own name, but that didn't really bother her right then; she was so tired. She was brought back to reality with a bang as memories came flooding back into her head. Walking in the wood, the clearing, her, Damon, her and Damon! Oh god, how had she done that to Stefan. No, she'd done it for Stefan, to protect him; she hadn't betrayed him, not really. Damon had said this could be their little secret; no one had to know, right?
She opened her eyes slowly and gazed up at the leaves above her head for a second before sitting up. She gazed around her, taking in the clearing.
"Oh, finally, you're awake! I was so bored"
She dragged her eyes along the floor, blushing slightly at the blood staining the leaves and grass. Her blood. She finally brought her eyes up to Damon, who was lounging, shirtless still, against a tree, examining her. Before she could even blink he was right in her face, placing a finger under her chin and brining her head to the side; examining where he'd bitten.
"Wow, I got you good" He mused, stroking the twin puncture marks with talented, cooling fingers "But nothing that cannot be fixed"
He smiled at her again, his fangs almost cutting into his lower lips. He brought his wrist to his mouth and she watched in surprise as he proceeded to bite down onto his wrist, drawing two perfect droplets of blood. She gazed at his wrist, questions whirring in her head. He brought his wrist up slightly as though making a toast.
"Here's to immortality" He said, grinning wickedly at her.
He offered her his wrist and she obediently brought her lips to it, taking a few heavy sips. The flavour was completely unique and shockingly addictive. It made her feel warm on the inside, warm in a heady, drunken way. She was so swept up in the flavour that she didn't realise that she was being reckless, taking too much. She pulled away quickly, shocked at her own bloodlust when it came to Damon, who didn't look shocked at all, merely cocky and arrogant, obviously sensing how his blood had affected her; no doubt it affected other women in the same way.
Damon held his wrist out and she couldn't help herself from admiring the deep red blood that marred that perfect, translucent flesh. It looked beautiful, the way the blood contrasted against his skin and she wanted to do nothing better than to lick one of the droplets off. NO Elena! What are you thinking? That's blood! Humans don't drink blood! She thought quickly to herself, shocked at her own thoughts. Maybe she had taken too much of his blood, maybe he'd taken too much of hers. He mind started doing calculations; they'd been reckless, she'd let him take too much!
"Damon, am I going to be a vampire again" She asked, her voice hushed.
"Who knows, maybe? Let's just wait and see" He spoke pleasantly, a triumphant smile on his face.
"And you don't care?" She was furious now, furious at his blatant indifference.
"Would it really be so bad? Immortality, the ultimate secret and all you have to do is reach out and take it" He had that look in his eye again, the look his used to give her when he was envisioning her as his princess of darkness. She had to get away. She had to get out of this clearing and back to reality, back to Stefan. She sprinted out of the clearing and away from Damon as fast as she could. Away from the dreamlike clearing where she may have just lost her humanity. de