Another typical night for Damon Salvatore. Drinking in a bar, alone, and drowning in misery. Well, not particularly alone, seeing as he's always got company before he went out of the said bar.
Enough of that. Tonight, it's just going to be him and him alone. But Damon thought wrong. This isn't just an ordinary night.
He was on his third glass when he felt someone seat beside him. He immediately resisted to roll his eyes.
"Care to buy me a drink?" a woman's voice flittered to his ears.
This time, Damon didn't try to hold himself back.
"Isn't it a little too early to be hitting on someone?" he whispered a little too loudly.
"Is it? Really, Damon?" the woman urged.
Hearing his name made Damon freeze. No one knew him in this town. Not after compelling them, of course.
He carefully lifted his head and glanced at the woman whose eyes he knew were still pierced at him.
What he saw made him want to run for his life. The object of his misery is right in front of him. With a smiling face he all too knew was a fake one.
Elena Gilbert.
He wanted to hang himself for not sensing her presence. He should have known the moment she sat beside him; her scent never changed. And her voice... How could he even forget her voice? Maybe, being away from her for two years made him negligent. Or maybe, this is what he really wanted.
Suddenly, all of the memories he kept shut and hidden came flooding back to him. The very reason why he went from one town to another and never staying in one place for more than a couple of weeks. How long has he been there? Two months, almost? Oh, the horror!
His mind was brought back to the present when he heard her sigh and say, "Fine. If you don't want to, I'll just buy one myself, then."
"What are you doing here?" he blurted out.
"Funny thing, you know, that's the first question I have for you, too," she retorted.
No one spoke when a bartender arrived giving Elena her drink. A moment of silence ensued after, each trying to gauge the other's mood.
"Why did you leave town?" asked Elena after taking her first sip.
"Isn't that too much for you?" Damon questioned back with frown, not taking his eyes off her.
"Why did you leave town, Damon?" Elena repeated more forcefully and faced him.
"Elena —"
"Yes?" she responded with a sweet smile.
"—Go home."
Elena's smile waivered a little but she kept up her facade. "You are not my sire anymore, Damon. You can't tell me what to do or where I should be," she finished with her face turning serious.
"Good point, Elena!" said Damon sarcastically. "You're human again. And since you're no longer sired to me, why don't you just be on your way now? Okay? Bye bye!"
"No," was all Elena said.
Damon let out a loud breath, exasparated. "Alright. What do you want?"
"Why did you leave Mystic Falls?"
"Are we really going to keep having this conversation?"
"Why do you keep dodging my question?"
"Because there's no need to answer that damn question!" said Damon, his voice rising.
"Seriously?!" Elena's patience was coming to an end. "I am not leaving here until you answer that damn question!" she spat back, equaling Damon's tone of voice.
"Elena, why are you so stubborn?" he said as he calmed down. "If you really want to know, you already answered your question yourself."
Elena was dumbfounded. "What?"
"You said so yourself: you're back to being human, there is no sire bond linking us together, and I'm not basically your favorite person again. Shouldn't you be in Stefan's arms right now?" Damon ended his explanation with a question, wanting to stir the topic away from him. Once he asked his question, however, he doesn't want to hear the answer.
"You jumped to that conclusion?" whispered Elena.
"Am I not right about you running back to Stefan in a heartbeat after you woke up?"
"You're wrong."
If Damon was taken aback, it went unnoticed as he laughed lightly as a response. "Oh, so tell me, where did I go wrong in my assumption?"
"Everything," said Elena through gritted teeth.
She continued when Damon didn't speak. "Do you know who I wanted to see first when I woke up? The first person I wanted to share my being human again? It definitely wasn't Stefan.
"And imagine my surprise when I learned that he wasn't in that town anymore."
"Elena..."
"I thought you promised you weren't going to leave me again?" she accused him.
"This... is a different case."
"How so?"
"I can't hurt my brother," said Damon solemnly.
Elena frowned. "But you're fine with you getting hurt? With me getting hurt?"
"Yes," answered Damon without blinking an eye."You will always love Stefan, Elena. I know that. You know that, too. Me being out of the picture will make you realize that. So just... Go back home and try to work things out with him," he finished, almost pleadingly.
"Well, that's where you're wrong again," Elena answered with conviction. "We did try to work things out... and we did realize a thing or two... And then, he let me go.
"Don't get me wrong, I mean, I still love Stefan and he still loves me but... we're not in love with each other anymore. We're still good friends, mind you.
"And just so you know, I'm very much in love with this one sarcastic and egotistical person."
"Can I guess who this person is?" asked Damon, suddenly playing with her game.
"Not yet. I still have to give you some clues," said Elena immediately, stopping him from saying another word. She was having fun now, though. Damon's finally lighting up; she can feel it. Just a little more push. "You know, I had to bug Bonnie every single day for her to perform her locator spell. And every single time she's got a hold of his whereabouts, he's gone. In a flash. Even before I try to follow wherever he might be... I think my friends are starting to get annoyed with me because of that... But I never gave up. I just won't."
"Really?" he said, a small smile playing across his lips.
"Really," Elena confirmed, leaning closer to him.
As Damon was about to open his mouth, she cut him off. "Oh, and who said anything about Stefan being hurt and unhappy?"
"What do you mean?"
"Let's just say he's having the time of his life with my twin," shrugged Elena.
"Katherine?" said Damon, voice laced with shock.
Elena nodded slightly.
"What about her dear Elijah?"
"He left town with Klaus, remember?" Elena reminded him.
"And Rebekah?" he asked, moving forward towards Elena.
"She's... with Matt. Her brothers left her here and... after all that has happened, she's kind of... tolerable."
"I see you've stayed besties even after gaining back your humanity," Damon said jokingly.
Elena rolled her eyes with a chuckle. "Why are we even talking about them?" she whispered, Damon's face a few inches away from her.
"Right. No talking," Damon whispered back and closed the gap between them.
A/N: Finally! I have written a Delena FF. Woot! Even if it's just a one-shot. Haha! Sorry for the lack of emotions, though.
Thanks for reading, lovelies! 3