(A/N: In this fanfic, Elena is a dancer. Just go with it!)
Elena's POV
I was stupid.
Seriously, what the hell was I thinking, walking around in the woods in the middle of the night?
Oh yeah, I know why. Stefan left with Katherine.
He left with Katherine about a week ago after he cheated but the constant reminders were driving me crazy. But I didn't love him. Not now, not anymore. Damon would come to check up on me every day even though he still had Andie as his little pet. After he left my house, late at night of course, I decided to take a walk and ended up in the middle of the forest.
I hadn't cried since Jenna's funeral, which was well over four months ago. I didn't cry when Stefan left, which trust me, I wanted to. I didn't cry when Bonnie and Caroline said they'd wanted nothing to do with me. I didn't cry when I found out I had gotten accepted to Julliard but couldn't afford the tuition because I had to take care of Jeremy (but of course nobody knew about that). Do you know what it's like to go four months trying to stay strong? I wanted to cry. I wanted nothing more than to break down and just cry my heart out. But I couldn't, I had to keep it together for Jeremy's sake. I needed to be strong for him. For myself.
I felt this fear in the pit of my stomach. This fear…I knew that if I let the first tear fall I wouldn't be able to stop them from raining down. But the worst part is this shuddering thought, the thought that maybe I was too far gone. Maybe I had faced so much death and tragedy that it wasn't even a surprise anymore. Maybe I was just lost…lost to the point where I could no longer be found.
I was too wrapped up in my own selfish thoughts to hear the evil bastard behind me. But when I heard a low growl I turned around as fast as I could. I gasped when I saw it.
A wolf.
A beautiful wolf, but a wolf nonetheless. Its coffee brown fur looked warm and inviting but his amber eyes told different. They reflected darkness. They reflected evil. I shuddered. Was it because it was the middle of November or was it because I was scared? Probably both. The wolf's white razor-sharp teeth pulled up in what I thought was a smile and dropped some sort of necklace that I hadn't noticed he'd been carrying. He snarled and started to circle me like a lion would an antelope. Oh shit. Oh shit, oh shit oh shit. I knew I couldn't escape this. I contemplated taking out my phone and calling Damon but the odds of him getting bitten were huge and I figured his life would be more valuable than mine at this point. So I swallowed the lump in my throat and tried to think of something to say. I mean, it was a werewolf, right? Maybe the tiny human part would be able to hear me.
"I…uhm, hello?" I croaked. Hello? A wolf three times my size was about to rip my innards out and I'm saying hello to it? Hmm, maybe I should ask it how it's doing too. "You're a werewolf. I know that. And I know that you're probably hungry and feel the need to kill me but-," I didn't have time to finish because it pounced on me. I could feel its weight as its paws dug into my shoulders. I tried to push against it but it weighed too much. It growled viciously and bent its head down so that its nose was centimeters from mine. I resorted to the last thing I could think of. "My v-vampire friend will rip your h-heart out if you k-kill me!" I whispered.
It made a snorting sound, implying that he could easily take Damon before biting mercilessly into my stomach. Its razor teeth sunk into my skin as if it were biting into butter. I screamed bloody murder but I knew that no one would be able to hear me considering how far I was in the woods. Oh God. I had never given much thought to how I'd die. Maybe it'd be peaceful. Maybe it'd be dying in place for a loved one. But not once had I thought I'd die by the hands of a psychopath supernatural creature. Fuck, this hurt. I was too caught up in a world of pain to realize the wolf had stopped eating me. His head was snapped up and he looked as if he were listening to something. Was it Damon? Did Damon somehow hear my pleas for help and come to save me? The wolf growled in my face before running away, leaving me on the cold, wet, and muddy forest floor with a giant gash spewing out blood on my stomach. Fuck my life was my last thought before I slipped into a world of darkness.
…
I slowly opened my eyes. Was I dead? Was I alive? Did someone find me? I sat up, wincing at the pain in my stomach. I had dried blood running down my stomach, all over my hands, and on my shoulder from the wolf's paws. I stood up, nearly falling but luckily grabbed on to a tree nearby to balance myself. I was a bloody, muddy mess and I quickly realized it was pouring rain. So I was soaking wet, too. Great. My phone was by a nearby tree trunk and when I bent down to grab it, I found the necklace that was in the wolf's mouth. It was a beautiful pendant, a silver carving of a werewolf's face. I swallowed the lump in my throat and put it in my pocket before checking my phone. 32 unread messages and 15 voicemails.
Elena? Where are you? I left my jacket at your house and when I came back you weren't there. –D
Where the hell are you? –D
You're freaking me out. Tell me where you are. –D
Are you hurt? –D
God Damnit, Elena! –D
Listen, if you're mad at me fine but let me help you. –D
I sighed. He was seriously worried about me. Should I call him? The wolf was probably gone by now. The time on my phone told me that I had been unconscious for about two hours, so I gathered myself and trudged home. The pain was unbearable and I had to bit my lips several tips to keep from crying out. When I finally got home I practically crawled upstairs, thanking god when I noticed Damon wasn't in my bedroom. I took a quick shower to get the mud and blood off of me before taking a look at the bite. It was huge, covering about half of my stomach. I noticed that there was something white and sharp in the wound, so I grabbed a pair of tweezers and pulled it out, slightly wincing from the pain. I held it up in front of my face and gasped.
A tooth.
It was sharp, like a knife. I carefully set it down on the counter and made sure the wound wasn't deep. I didn't want to have to explain this to the hospital. I breathed a sigh of relief when I realized it didn't reach any major organs or tissues. Wrapping gauze around my torso and throwing on a black tee, I stepped out of my bathroom and my eyes widened when I saw an angry Damon sitting on my bed with his arms crossed.
"Elena. How nice to see you. Were you gonna tell me where the hell you went or was I supposed to gather a search party?" He asked. I was so tired and drained I didn't have energy for a snarky comment so I just shrugged and put my hair in a messy bun at the base of my head before lounging against the doorframe. He crossed his arms. "Where were you?" He asked. His eyes looked dangerous.
"The woods." I said quietly with no further explanation. My expression was blank and dull, not one hint of the 'Miss Independent' attitude I always carried. Damon stood up.
"The woods? THE WOODS? Do you understand how fucking worried I was? You weren't answering any of my calls or responding to any of my texts! I was freaking the hell out, but oh Elena wanted to take a stroll in the woods at an ungodly hour at night, so all's well!" He spat. My face stayed the same and I didn't bother responding so instead I went to my door, attempting to go downstairs and get something to eat when suddenly he was in front of me, grabbing my arm. His eyes looked a lot softer. "Whoa, you don't look so good." He said with a raised eyebrow. I shrugged.
"I'm fine." I replied. Well, that wasn't a complete lie. The truth was I felt lightheaded and like I was going to pass out any minute. Damon's eyebrows knitted in confusion.
"No, you're pale as the moon, you're skin feels like it's on fire and you're lacking that attitude that I love oh so much. What's wrong with you?" He asked. I just closed my eyes for a while and eventually reopened them.
"Nothing... everything." I replied before plopping down the steps. He was right on my trail, arms crossed, eyebrow raised. He watched me as I poured bowl of cereal and sat down at the island with the same lifeless expression. I was so fucking tired and my bite hurt so badly. Damon sat across from me and lightly traced the bags under my eyes. "What time is it?" I mumbled while playing with my food. He cleared his throat.
"Five something in the morning." He replied. I nodded and stared at the cereal I'd made.
"Ugh, I can't eat anything." I explained before getting up and dumping the food. Damon just kept watching me with concerned eyes and I was tired of being stared at. I went up the steps and curled into bed. Damon sat on the edge of my bed.
"Something happened on your little 'walk' and you're not telling me." He said softly. I swallowed the lump in my throat.
"Nothing happened." I said weakly. Damon took my hand.
"You can tell me anything." He whispered. I nodded and buried my head into my pillow and watched as Damon sighed in frustration and got up to sit near my window. I raised an eyebrow. He sighed. "I'm staying with you tonight, er, well today." He said. I kept my mouth shut and buried back into the pillow again.
"No snarky protest? Geez, Ellie, what the fuck happened?" He murmured. I subconsciously smiled at the nickname 'Ellie' he had given me before drifting off to sleep.
…