It is half one in the morning but I had to get this story out! It came to me after I watched the second VD episode (yes I'm still behind and also, WTF?) and I just HAD to get this out. I'm really proud of this story actually – it turned out better than expected and I've wanted to write this kind of story for a while.
I hope you like it as much as I do!
DISCLAIMER: I own nothing! I do not own Vampire Diaries or any of the characters! HONEST!
xXx
My Family
Elena barely pays attention in school anymore. It's why she needs extra-credit in English. English. Her best subject before her mother and father passed away. She was writing in full sentences since she was four years old, and now she's handing in shit homework and failing tests. Her teacher though, Mrs Olive, is understanding. Guess the whole parents died and then aunt and uncle gets you an almost-out-of-jail-free card. Almost.
For extra-credit she has to write an essay on My Family.
Elena wants to punch the wall. Or the teacher, whichever. Maybe Mrs Olive thinks that she's helping Elena – trying to give her free therapy or something. Whatever. She's not doing the assignment. She'd rather get held back a year.
xXx
Somehow – and Elena doesn't know how – the Gilbert household has become the after-school hangout. She drives back with Caroline and Bonnie and they both come in the house uninvited (no pun intended) and meander in the kitchen. Bonnie begins pulling out take out menus, moaning about a craving of Chinese food while Caroline helps herself to a pile of cookies. Elena doesn't mind them acting as if this house is their home. Even though she occasionally wants a little alone time, she'd rather not be on her own. She feels safer knowing there's an all-powerful witch and kick-ass vampire in the house.
Besides, it's not as if they'll be alone for long.
Tyler calls and Caroline invites him over. He brings Matt, who shyly sticks his head in; when they were younger he would walk through the door as if he had lived there (and he practically did). But now it must have dawned on him that he's entering a room that has four supernatural beings – three of them being teenage girls. Elena smiles extra big at him (though it almost breaks her face like a piece of china) and calls him inside, asking if he prefers pizza or Chinese. Matt answers pizza; Bonnie interrupts asking about Jeremy; Matt explains he's still working; Bonnie then thanks him and says that she wants Chinese food. Elena – the peacemaker – opts for both. Caroline and Tyler don't comment as they have gone in the living room and are making noises that the other three try to ignore.
Twenty minutes later large portions of Chinese food and six pizzas (yes, six large pizzas have been ordered because none of them can agree on toppings) are being delivered and Jeremy walks through the door accompanied by Ric who picked him up. Jeremy goes over and kisses Bonnie, slightly shyly. Elena has been noticing that they've been acting strange around each other lately. The old Elena would ask about it, but right now she has so much on her plate she's getting stomach ache, so she allows this to slide. Ric asks if food has been ordered, and then hurries into the living room to break up Caroline and Tyler ("Do I have to remind you about Hands Off rule?"). Caroline and Tyler are then separated by three cushions and Matt makes a comment about how the two of them have the powers of superman and yet they are separated by a teacher.
The food comes, at the exact same time. The Chinese boy (who is from Austin Texas) and the Pizza boy (who is from Beijing) look at each other bemused. Ric hands them the money ("I'm the only one with a job here, remember?") and with the help of Matt carries the food into the kitchen. There is an animalistic surge towards the food. Elena grabs a plate of dumplings and about half the chicken and mushroom pizza ("Hey I'm human remember? I need to eat human food!") and heads to her room with her math homework in mind.
She thinks that she hasn't seen Damon today. Before she can understand whether she actually wants to see him she enters her bedroom and there he is, lying on her bed reading Proust. Damon smiles and gives her a perky wave. Elena rolls her eyes but doesn't bother to push him out the room (as if it would work). Instead she sits on the floor, her back against the bed and her feet against the radiator (nice and warm) and starts on her homework while eating. She doesn't talk and neither does he, and they read in silence. Sometimes she thinks she can feel the weight of his eyes on her, but every time she glances round at him – so not purposely looking at him – his eyes are on the book.
By the time she brushes her teeth and changed into her pyjamas he is still on the bed. Elena informs him that she needs to sleep. Damon gives her a look that makes her feel stupid ("So sleep then"). Too tired to argue she slips in bed (thank God Damon wasn't on her side) and warns him she's turning the light off. He rolls those grey marbles ("I'm so scared"). The light goes out and they lie side by side. Elena is almost afraid to move, scared that she'll touch him. She tells herself that this is Damon and she trusts him. She reminds herself that – even though she trusts him – he can still surprise her.
He begins to hum, some old lullaby from the eighteen hundreds or something. Elena tries to recognise it but fails, partly because it's doing the trick of making her eyes heavy. Sleepily she rolls to the side, her brain finally shutting down. It shuts down so completely that she doesn't realise her hand has slipped into Damon's. More importantly he doesn't attempt to make her let go.
She makes it through another day.
xXx
One night there is an explosion from Bonnie. The cutlery drawer flies open and Damon pushes Elena to the grounds as forks, knives and spoons rain down on them. Tyler gets forked and a knife is barely a millimetre from Damon's hand. Bonnie barely notices as she demands to know from Jeremy and Matt what the hell is going on. Elena is about to say that Bonnie is acting crazy when she notices the guilty looks on two boys that she knows all too well. Damon however interrupts and, through gritted teeth, reminds the witch to control herself – or words to that effect. Ric suggests that they all calm down and head into the living room.
Once they've all sat down Jeremy explains everything: about Vicki and Anna, how he thinks he might be able to bring them back but doesn't know whether he should. Damon rolls his eyes and says he that there's vampires, witches and werewolves – why not ghosts too? Ric – the only one of them who can be the parent around here – cautions them not to do anything until they find out more. Matt informs Ric that this is his sister and he will get her back no matter what. Bonnie is silent, but then again she has just found out that her boyfriend's ex-girlfriends are haunting him – not something you want to hear.
Elena takes the car and goes for a drive. She drives and drives and drives until she reaches the end of the road; then she breaks down into tears because this can't be happening. She can't lose Jeremy to ghosts; she can't be waiting around for a call from an ex-boyfriend; she can't not have her uncle or her aunt or her parents.
This can't be her life.
But it is.
So she goes back to it.
xXx
Saturday morning is cartoon morning. Jeremy (who Damon has started calling, "The kid" and gets a non-PG response) is sitting on the floor in his pyjamas eating a bowl of cereal (Bonnie is spending time with her father so he doesn't feel the need to impress her). Caroline has slept over and she and Elena are in their pyjamas too. Damon is on the couch, head laid back and eyes closed. He didn't get much sleep last night ("Elena was tossing and turning"). Elena doesn't miss the subtle raising of the eyebrows from her best friend, but she doesn't comment on it. Instead they take advantage of the moment and paint Damon's toes ("God they're ugly!") Glittering pink and Cat's eyes blue. Elena gets the feeling that Damon knows they're doing this, but he doesn't wake up until they're done. He gives chase. Caroline manages to get out the way (she is a vampire after all) but Damon catches Elena in the kitchen. She squeals as he grabs her; his hands move up her sides and she whirls round to face him, half-laughing.
Their faces are directly opposite each other and their eyes meet, silver against chocolate, and suddenly it isn't a game anymore. There is a silence as heavy as gravity and Elena tries to ignore the feelings rushing inside her about the man who has been in her bed for the past two and a half weeks and is pretty sure he hears her crying at night but never says a word about it.
Then they hear Ric coming down the stairs complaining that this is one of his precious days off ("As if, you have more holidays than most people") and tells Jeremy to turn the television down. By the time he enters the kitchen Elena has poured him a mug of coffee and Damon is getting himself some blood from the portable fridge they keep (since he and Caroline are spending so much time here, they think it's a good idea). They pretend as if nothing has happened.
Nothing did happen, Elena reminds herself.
So why does it feel like something did?
xXx
They are lying side by side against each other. It is past one in the morning and both of them of fallen silent after having a long debate over which Harry Potter novel is better ("We never have this conversation, right? If Caroline hears this I'll never live it down"). Both of them are tired but for some reason neither of them are asleep.
Arm against arm. Elena swears that they are breathing at the same pace. She feels Damon's fingers twine into hers. He begins to hum her lullaby and Elena closes her eyes.
xXx
There is a major emergency in the Gilbert household that evening, because the television remote is missing. After the last incident (they still haven't gotten the ceiling clean yet and Jeremy swears he can smell rotting cheese, though as Caroline, Tyler and Damon pointed out, they would be able to smell it) Ric imposed a strict television schedule. If they don't find the remote before five Tyler misses out on his new addiction – Teen Werewolf – and Caroline is threatening to start World War Three if she misses The Next Top Model. The remote isn't found by 4:55p.m. but thankfully crisis is averted when Damon distracts them with a drinking game.
Frowning Ric says that he isn't sure whether they should be drinking at this time, but is out-voted by the rest of them ("Democracy rules Mr S!"). By seven Mr S has cut Jeremy off and Bonnie and Caroline has put on some music and Matt groans ("Please tell me that's not Miley Cyrus"). Damon calls them all light weights and attempts to down the whisky before Tyler snatches it away from. The two of them get into an argument and before the rest of them can stop it they are wrestling on the floor.
Half an hour later they've had more whisky and Damon and Tyler are acting like they're best friends – as if nothing ever happened, including the werewolf bite. Matt is watching them a little wide eyed, realising how much power the two of them actually have. Caroline is patting him on the shoulder muttering comforting words while Bonnie is trying to convince Ric that they really need Indian food while Jeremy explains to Ric that Bonnie always gets hungry when she's had a few. The two have taken a break at the minute and Elena knows that Jeremy misses Bonnie.
As for herself, she sits in the corner watching it all go on, quietly sipping her drink hoping Ric won't notice. She has a sort of feeling in the pit of her stomach that she can't identify. It feels warm.
Maybe it's the whisky.
xXx
Ric rolls his eyes when he sleepily gets up on Sunday morning ("It's a day of rest guys") and finds Elena and Damon tossing a baseball round the kitchen. Elena misses a catch and Damon dares her to stand on her for a minute. Elena attempts it and falls into a kitchen cabinet. Damon laughs and Elena squirts him with water. It's on and food is thrown. Damon is sneezing and covered in flour and eggs are splattered over the oven by the time Ric rushes in. He shakes his head ("What are you two, twelve?") and Damon catches her eye and Elena smiles.
They have to clean up the kitchen, but they don't care. They've already gotten into a debate about English history and it's getting heated.
xXx
Mrs Olive calls Elena up to her desk and reminds her that the assignment is due the next day. Elena smiles in reply and walks out the door, not bothering to inform her that she hasn't even started it. She doesn't plan to.
She feels crappy again. By the time she gets home she wants to crawl into bed. But when she gets in the freezes as the dining room – only used for special occasions – is set. She feels a lump in her throat and rushes into the kitchen. It is a flurry of activity: pots bubbling and the oven is making its debut.
Caroline speaks first, announcing that they're having a home cooked meal. For two months they have been eating take-away meals. Elena can feel her stomach yearning for it. Matt helpfully carries plates of garlic bread through to the dining room and Tyler tells Bonnie and Jeremy to get a room as their kissing is making him not want to eat. Elena can't help but stand there until – she swears, in the blink of an eye – the kitchen is empty and it's just her and Damon. He's pouring pasta into a bowl of sauce and mixing it together, though his eyes are on her.
He smiles at her then, as if he can read her mind. It's a smile she hasn't seen before, and it feels so pure that Elena believes it is a divine experience. She smiles back and suddenly she can hear the music swell and even though a counter separates them she feels as if they could be lit on fire at the moment.
The others call them in ("C'mon man, I'm starving!") and for a second they still keep the smiles on their faces. Then they enter the dining room and sit down to have a meal. Caroline is telling Tyler not to take so much garlic bread and Bonnie and Jeremy are grinning at each like fools and Matt is saying how much this will fill him up for his shift tonight while Ric's reminding him not to work too hard. Damon is next to her and, still smiling, he pours her a glass of red wine.
Elena smiles back. It feels easy.
Suddenly she gets inspiration.
xXx
She sits at the dining room table finishing her assignment. She has to do it here because she wants to keep the inspiration she has. The words flow from her pen easily and it takes her half the time it used to. Smiling she slips it into her bag and goes upstairs, turning the lights off as she goes.
Damon is reading, waiting for her. She changes in the bedroom this time (her back is to him!) and crawls into bed. Without a word Damon turns the light off and they begin to fall asleep. This time Damon turns on his side and wraps her in his arms, bringing her close to her. She can feel him breathing on her and her heart begins to beat, so fast and strong that she can't believe it, she thinks that a single movement would cause her to explode.
It takes her a while to drift off to sleep. Just before she does she hears the door creak open. She doesn't say anything but feels Damon increase his grip on her.
Then Ric's voice.
("I don't know whether I should do something about this")
Damon's grip tights around her. Elena holds her breath. She can't sleep alone. Not after two months with Damon beside her. That would be like losing air.
Then Caroline's voice mixed in with Jeremy's, as sharp and clear as a bell:
"Don't."
xXx
The next morning Elena gets up early. Recently it's been a struggle but now she feels alive and energetic, something she hasn't felt in a long time.
She decides to go with it.
Damon complains that she is up too early and tries in vain to put a pillow over his head. Elena laughs – the first true laugh that hasn't been supplied by alcohol – and ruffles his hair. She plants a kiss on her cheek and tells him she'll see him tonight.
"Count on it"
She goes down to the kitchen. While she waits for the toaster to pop and the coffee to be made she roots through drawers, thinking they need to be cleared out. She finds them then: the pictures from the night they played the drinking game when they couldn't find the remote (which they did find in the end, in the cutlery draw of all places. Damon claims that Ric's sleepwalking). Elena takes a few moments to stare at them: the one where Caroline and Bonnie are dancing; Matt, Jeremy and Tyler all lifting their glasses of alcohol at the same time; a great one of Ric speaking to Damon as the vampire rolls his eyes; Jeremy and Bonnie caught in a smile; Caroline laughing as she messes up Ric's hair with the boys laughing in the background at Ric's expression.
And the one of her and Damon, with his arm wrapped round her and face turning towards her, with Elena pulling a face. But she's smiling.
With the kitchen letter magnets she attaches the pictures of the fridge, and writes underneath it MY FAMILY.
She leaves for school that day with hope in her heart.
xXx
In case anyone's wondering, I changed the speaking without brackets near the end of the story for a reason, not a mistake. Figure it out? ;-)
PLEASE REVIEW!