ONE
Could you really never forget your first love? Could you ever stop loving the first person who'd told you he loved you? Could you ever stop loving the first person who'd make your heart skip a beat and make you feel all funny inside? Elena didn't think she could. After five years, she was still in love with her first love; the first person who'd told her he loved her; the first person who'd make her heart skip a beat and made her feel all funny inside. And after five years, he still had that same effect on her, though she didn't think he knew.
Elena watched from her corner as he smiled down at his new girlfriend. The smile that had once been for her. And her heart broke, slowly and painfully. Damon Salvatore didn't do girlfriends, he had always enjoyed flirting and partying way too much to be willing to be tied down by commitments. But, Elena thought, this Katherine Pierce must be special. And that in itself, hurt infinite times more than seeing him smile and focus all his attention on her. He never did like going for parties, but here he was, seemingly enjoying himself and showing off his girlfriend to the entire town.
"Surprising, isn't it?"
Elena turned and saw Stefan, who had gotten them both drinks. Elena took hers from him, "What is?"
"Damon."
Elena forced a smile, "Yeah. I never pegged him for the boyfriend type." It wasn't true. How many times had she wished and fantasized about him being hers? But it was what people expected to hear, she knew. Even Stefan, Damon's brother and Elena's best friend, knew nothing about what had happened between them.
Both the brothers were so different, as different as day was from night. Stefan, with his dark brown hair and green eyes, was always so serious and considerate – he was always willing to lend a hand and he was also serious about schooling. In their second year in University, Stefan was a quarterback and was consistently on the Dean's list, making him one of the top scorers in University. He was already sure of what he'd wanted to do in the future. He was going to take over his father's business and bring it to new heights. Damon, on the other hand, had black hair was contrasted so strongly with his bold blue eyes, eyes that always seemed to draw you in. He had always been the bad boy, the one who created trouble for the family and for the town, but none too serious. He had not continued his studies after college, it wasn't that he wasn't smart – he just didn't want to, which only caused more strain between his parents and him. He had always made himself out to be the kind of guy who came and went, with not a care in the world and everyone thought of him as heartless, but Elena knew otherwise.
"I heard that they'd met when Damon was in London, doing God-knows-what. But you've got to admit that she's hot."
And pretty, too, Elena added in her head. Feeling overwhelmed all of a sudden, Elena said, "I'm going to go out and have some air. Too many people here. Find you later, okay, Stef?"
Stefan eyed his best friend seriously before nodding. He had no reason to believe that there was anything wrong.
Outside, Elena sighed and found herself a quiet spot on a swing under a tree a distance away from the Lockwood mansion. She had once enjoyed mingling with people, but it had been the times when Damon wasn't around. For the past five years, he was almost always away, popping back in town randomly for a few days to a week but they had hardly seen or spoken to each other – save from the birthday and Christmas cards she'd gotten from him over the years. But now, he had been back for a month, with a girlfriend and Elena didn't know what to think or feel. She'd thought that she was over him, but today proved just how wrong she was.
She should be happy for him, right? He had finally found someone he could be with, someone who understood him, who put those light in his eyes when he smiled, who loved him. Katherine would be a fool not to love him. He was a great guy and he deserved to be happy.
Just then, she heard a woman's throaty laugh and turned around, making her heart stop. They'd come out and were in each other's arms and she could all but see his heart in his eyes. Seeing them make out passionately should've embarrassed the hell out of her, but for some reason, she couldn't move. When they'd finally surfaced, Damon grinned and cupped Katherine's face with his hands and said, "I love you, Katherine."
Elena gasp involuntarily, making Damon lift his gaze from Katherine and pinned her with those blue eyes. Katherine didn't hear for she giggled and said, "I love you, too, Damon." And hugged him tightly. For a moment, Elena simply stared at Damon while she felt her heart break all at once. Unlike before, it felt like her heart had simply shattered into a million pieces. When her vision blurred, Elena realised that tears were welling up in her eyes and threatening to spill over. Not wanting to make a scene, she got up and left quickly.
She was running and running, not knowing where she was headed. All she knew was that she needed to get out. She couldn't breathe. Her breathe hitched and Elena stopped, leaning against a tree, covering her mouth with her hand while sobs escaped from her. She had thought she was fine seeing them together, but hearing him say those words, made it all too real. Those words that he'd once told her and promised his heart to her, to her and only her. But she guessed it was hers no longer. And Elena felt like a fool. A fool for wishing.
"Elena?"
Shocked, Elena stood upright and turned around. Her sobbing so hard must've drowned out the sounds of his footsteps. Mortified that he should see her like this, she shook her head and wiped at her tears furiously, "Damon, go back, leave me alone." Please don't go, don't go back to Katherine. "I'm fine, I just don't know what's gotten into me." Don't love her, tell me you still love me. "Do me a favour, will you? Tell Stefan that I'm not feeling well and I'll call him tomorrow."
She saw a myriad of emotions cross his face, amongst them were confusion and pain. "Lena, don't-"
"Goodbye, Damon." She heard the finality in her voice and saw from his face that he'd heard it, too. Before he could say or do anything, Elena turned and ran all the way home, not even aware that she was in heels. Once in her room, she locked the door and curled herself on her bed as she cried. Her heart was broken for the second time, by the same person. And she didn't know if her heart would ever recover. For now, though, it was in pieces and she didn't know how to pick them up and fix them together.
"Yes, Stefan, I'm fine. I'd just wanted to go back early and settle down. Maybe even do a little research before school starts. It's only just a few more days to go, I will be fine there on my own. In fact, I know Caroline and Bonnie are already there. You can spend more time with your family and I'll see you when you're back in school."
"If you're sure, Elena-"
"Of course I am. Enjoy the rest of your holidays. See you in a few days', Stef."
And she hung up. Stefan stared at his phone, frowning. There was something up with her and he didn't know what it was. Sliding his phone back into his pocket, Stefan went down the hallway into Damon's room where he was buttoning his shirt.
"Where's Katherine?"
"Out shopping. I'm supposed to meet her for lunch in a bit." Looking up, Damon saw Stefan's face and raised an eyebrow, "What's up, baby bro?" Then he smirked and walked around Stefan to get his leather jacket, "Didn't get that grade you wanted?"
He was about to make his way out when Stefan asked, "Did something happen to Elena last night at the party?"
Damon stopped short and turned around, "What makes you think that?"
Stefan shrugged even as he frowned and glanced at the floor, "I don't know. It's just that she never came back to the party when she said she would and now she's already on the way back to campus when we'd planned on returning at the end of the week."
It was indeed strange, but Damon rolled his eyes at Stefan, "I told you, she said that she wasn't feeling well that's why she left early. So she'd decided that she had things to do and went back early, what's wrong with that? It's only a few days early. Don't be such a worrier, Stef." Patting his brother on the back, Damon left.
As Damon got into his car, he frowned at his own reflection in the rear-view mirror. Did she leave because she didn't want to see him? The image of her crying was burned into his brain and onto his heart. He'd never seen her cry like that before. In fact, he had never seen her cry at all. There was once years ago when she had tears in her eyes, but she had controlled them fast enough. Her sobbing like her heart was breaking would be forever etched onto his brain and heart. He would never forget it, for it felt like as though his heart was breaking, too. Could it be possible that she still loved him? It had been five years – what were the odds?
Sighing, Damon ran a frustrated hand over his face. Damn Elena. Starting his car, he went to find Katherine where he had promised to meet her for lunch, while all the while he was thinking of Elena.
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