Disclaimer: I do not own anything related to The Vampire Diaries, TV show or books. However I decided to have a little play around with the characters (I would definitely like to play with Damon).
So this is a short little fic. Probably no more than four short chapters. I suddenly had the inspiration for this chapter during the early hours of the morning and needed to get it written.
Hopefully the next chapter of Inaction's and Consequences should be out tomorrow and chapter 29 of Elena's Fantasy Diaries in a few days.
This chapter will seem very familiar as it starts directly from 4x01, however there have been a few small amendments. Its purpose is to set the scene. You'll understand why by the end of the chapter. The story is not set in season 4.
Rated M for future smut (although not this chapter).
I hope you enjoy.
Elena could feel herself waking up to what seemed like a bright light shining into her room, even though her eyes were still closed. She could hear noise of church bells ringing in the background, along with the sound of sirens, and what she thought was a lawnmower, rang out loudly in her ears. Elena couldn't understand what was going on, everything seemed so loud. She opened her eyes and took a huge gasp of air, only then realizing she must have been holding her breath, which strangely scared her and made her scramble desperately to sit up in her own bed, confused as to what was going on. As she had suspected, she could make out it was daylight and Stefan was sitting on the end of her bed, watching her.
"Stefan?" Elena asked as she began to hyperventilate, feeling scared, while she tried work out what was going on as she knew something wasn't quite right.
"Hey. I'm right here." Stefan said softly. "You've been in and out for hours." he assured her, rubbing her hand.
"Wha...what happened?" Elena asked.
Stefan lowered his eyes. "You were in an accident." he told her.
Suddenly memories started flooding back from what had happened. "Oh my God. Matt is he...?" Elena began to panic as she remembered Stefan swimming away with Matt in his arms.
"Alive?" Damon interrupted in an angry sounding voice, of which Elena had never heard before. This was the first time she'd noticed his presence since she woke up. Elena and Stefan looked over at him as he sat scowling on the window seat. "Ask Stefan. The hero." he added bitterly.
Elena looked back at Stefan, worry etched all over her face. "He's fine." Stefan reassured her.
"Thank you." Elena sighed a sigh of relief. " I thought that I..." she started knowing something was wrong. "How did you...?" she frowned with confusion as realization hit her, that whatever was wrong, it was very bad, she could tell from angry expression on Damon's face.
"Save you?" Damon snapped bitterly. "He didn't." he snarled.
"When Jeremy brought you to the hospital before all this happened, your injuries were worse than anyone knew." Stefan quickly explained. "Meredith Fell made a choice, she used Damon's blood to heal you." he continued.
"And when Rebekah ran Matt's truck off the road, you had vampire blood in your system, Elena." Damon sighed as if waiting for Elena to connect the dots, which didn't take long.
Elena's face fell and tears began to well up in her eyes. The one thing she'd never wanted to happen was coming to fruition. "Oh my God. Does...does that mean that I...am I dead?" she asked, looking back and forth between Stefan and Damon, but neither of them answered her. Instead Stefan just lowered his eyes. Their deafening silence told her all she needed to know. "No, no, no, no! That wasn't supposed to happen!" Elena cried as she began to panic.
"Maybe it doesn't have to." Stefan tried to reassure her. "I talked to Bonnie, she says she's stronger than ever, there might be something that she can do to help you." he said quickly.
"No, the only thing that's going to help is for you to feed and complete the transition." Damon's shook his head, his voice laced with frustration.
"We have all day before she has to feed, Damon." Stefan argued back. "That's a day to exhaust every possible way out of this."
"There is no way out of it." Damon snapped. "We all know the drill. You feed or you die. There is no door number three." he spat.
Elena began to cry. "I was ready to die. I was supposed to die. I don't...I don't want to be...I can't be a vampire!" she sobbed. "If there's something that Bonnie can do we have to try." she begged.
"We will. We'll try everything" Stefan's voice was soft as Damon scoffed and rolled his eyes at Stefan's attempt to give Elena hope, even though deep down she knew Damon was right.
"Your choice, Elena. As always." Damon said bitterly as he held his hands up in mock surrender before getting up to leave her and Stefan alone. Stefan looked at Elena who was still was still crying, however she wanted to be on her own for a moment to allow herself to digest the information and deal with it in her own way. Elena nodded for Stefan to go talk to Damon so she could be alone to take in the devastating development. He smiled sadly before getting up to follow Damon.
Elena lowered her head, she wanted to cry, but she knew she had to be strong. She could hear Damon and Stefan arguing downstairs, much louder than before. All she wanted to do was tune the noise out, she hated it when they argued, especially about her. She closed her eyes and put her head in her hands and took a deep breath, maybe if she concentrated hard enough, the sounds would go away.
Eventually the sound of Damon and Stefan's voices disappeared. She sighed with relief, either she'd tuned them out or they'd stopped fighting. Whichever way, she didn't care as long as she got some peace. Elena removed her hands from her face and opened her eyes, but something wasn't right. Elena wasn't in her bedroom, instead she was on a road close to the woods near Wickery Bridge. This was the spot where she met her parents the night their car crashed into the water. Elena looked around her, confused as to what was going on, when suddenly she heard a voice coming from behind her. More importantly, it was her own voice.
Elena turned around to see herself on her cell phone talking to someone. Judging by what she was wearing, Elena realized this was her remembering the night her parents died, although why she'd suddenly remember that night seemed off. Confused as to why she was there, Elena decided to stay and watch to see what happened. She wondered if there was there something she'd forgotten about that night which she needed to remember. Maybe it would help her keep her humanity if she did have to transition.
"I know Bonnie, you're right." Elena watched herself say. "You and my mom both are. I just can't bring myself to tell him. At least not tonight. I'll call you later." she told her friend before hanging up.
Suddenly out of nowhere came another voice she recognized, yet this memory was unfamiliar. "Katherine." Damon called out. Elena whipped her head around to check she wasn't imagining things, but there Damon stood in his black leather jacket looking utterly baffled.
"No.. um... I" Elena watched her old self look behind her to make sure he wasn't talking to anyone else. "I'm Elena." she said, pointing at herself.
Elena was now confused. She had no recollection of Damon being there that night, so why would she be imagining it? Was this a dream or had they met first and he'd compelled her to forget? Elena remembered she was in transition, and any memories she'd been compelled to forget would return to her during this time. Surely Damon would never betray her trust like that, although admittedly this Damon didn't know Elena, so he had no reason to not compel her. Then she wondered why he'd never told her about this meeting ever since. They'd obviously met before Stefan had even laid eyes upon her. He'd not even admitted it while he was meant to be dying. Curious as to why Damon wouldn't reveal this secret, Elena turned her attention to the scene unfolding in front of her.
"Oh, you... you just look...I'm sorry, you just really remind me of someone." Damon narrowed his eyes at Elena. "I'm Damon." he smiled as he introduced himself.
"Not to be rude or anything, Damon, but it's kind of creepy that you're out here in the middle of nowhere." Elena looked at him skeptically.
"You're one to talk. You're out here all by yourself." Damon smirked.
"It's Mystic Falls. Nothing bad ever happens here." she rolled her eyes and shrugged, which led to an awkward silence between the two of them. Interestingly, she could see her younger self was already comfortable around him, and clearly wanted to continue talking, as if to keep him around. "Got into a fight with my boyfriend." the younger Elena volunteered.
"About what? May I ask." Damon asked, holding his hands up, letting her know he was just being polite.
"Life, future, he's got it all mapped out." Elena sighed as she walked towards him.
"And you don't want it?" Damon narrowed his eyes.
"I don't know what I want." Elena shrugged.
"Well, that's not true. You want what everybody wants." Damon smiled.
"What, mysterious stranger who has all the answers?" she asked. The way she said it and her entire body language shocked Elena. Now she understood why Damon had always believed there was more to her feelings than she let on. At this point in time she'd never met Stefan and she was young and carefree. Damon had seen the real Elena, and that girl was making it very clear how attracted to Damon she was. But that wasn't all, she could see they had an automatic connection, the pull she sometimes felt when she was with him was there even on their first meeting.
"Hmm, well, let's just say I've been around a long time. I've learned a few things." Damon cocked his head and smirked.
"So, Damon, tell me. What is it that I want?" Elena asked, expectantly as Damon moved closer towards her.
"You want a love that consumes you." Damon said softly. "You want passion, an adventure, and even a little danger." he smiled.
Elena frowned at his words, wondering how he'd managed to read her so well in such a short period of time. She also reflected on the irony of his choice of words, especially when he said 'A love that consumes.' She remembered telling Matt before the accident how Damon consumed her as opposed to Stefan who was what love should be about.
Elena was brought out of her thoughts when she heard her younger self ask."So, what do you want?"
Damon's face looked startled as if nobody had ever bothered to ask him that before. Looking back, Elena realized that at this point in his life, nobody ever really cared to ask what Damon wanted. His family, and especially Katherine, which was why Damon must have established out in those few short minutes they were alone together, what had taken Stefan four months to figure out. Elena was nothing like Katherine, they only looked the same.
Damon was still trying to think of an answer when Elena's heard the honk of a horn from an oncoming car.
Elena turned around. "It's my parents." she smiled as Damon moved even closer to her just as she turned back to face him.
"I want you to get everything that you're looking for." Damon compelled her. "But right now I want you to forget that this happened. Can't have people knowing that I'm in town yet." he smirked. "Goodnight, Elena." he said softly before disappearing.
Elena was suddenly back in her bedroom, she sat down on the edge of her bed speechless. She understood why Damon had compelled her. Had she have not looked like Katherine, he would have killed her. For the first time in her life, her appearance had saved her life. However, Elena was more than a little pissed he'd never mentioned it before. She decided she'd confront him about it later. Right now, she didn't have the energy. Elena got up from her bed and began to look at herself in the mirror, wondering if she looked any different. She took deep breaths pulled mouth back to check her teeth to see if they had sprouted fangs. She could feel there was something in her gums, similar to when her adult teeth were growing. Elena could feel they were just ready to push through her gums, a sensation she wasn't looking forward to.
Elena had already established her hearing had intensified, so much that she could hear the electricity running through a lightbulb. She looked down at it, annoyed with the sound it was making. She wondered if it was possible to tune sound out if she completed the transition or whether she would eventually get used to it and learn how to pick and choose what she could hear. Suddenly, she saw Jeremy in the doorway, and immediately walked over to him.
"Jer!" Elena cried as they wrapped their arms around one another.
"Are you okay?" Jeremy asked. "I watched Vicki go through this, she was a mess. Her emotions were all over the place. All these old memories came flooding back." he said.
Elena glanced over towards the noisy lightbulb, before turning back to face Jeremy. "I'm fine. I'm not Vicki." she said.
"No, you're not. You're you." Jeremy frowned. "You act like everything's okay so no one worries about you but you need help."
Elena glanced over at the lightbulb once more, the noise was getting beyond irritating. "I said I'm fine, okay?" Elena snapped, before realizing she was proving him he was right. "I...I'm sorry, I...Have you talked to Bonnie?" she asked, changing the subject.
"Yeah, she said when I was shot; she made some plea to the witch spirits to bring me back and they listened." Jeremy told her.
"Yeah, but the consequences were horrible." Elena frowned.
"And what could be more horrible than you turning into a vampire?" Jeremy asked. "I need my sister, not another one of them."
"We're gonna find a way out of this." Elena reassured him. "Everything's gonna be okay." she smiled.
"I hope so." Jeremy smiled sadly and left Elena alone in her room. The instant he was gone, she turns around and looked straight at the lamp housing the lightbulb which had been distracting her. She walked straight over towards it, pulled off the lampshade and crushed the lightbulb in her hand, finally destroying the buzzing noise which had been driving her crazy over the last few minutes.
"Elena." Elena heard Stefan's voice call from downstairs.
"Yeah." she replied.
"Would you like something to eat?" Stefan asked. "I can make you a sandwich." he suggested.
"A sandwich is good." Elena replied with a smile. "I'll get dressed." she said.
Five minutes later Elena was sat with Stefan in the kitchen, attempting to eat a sandwich he'd carefully prepared for her. Unfortunately the sandwich didn't taste like it should.
"It's disgusting." Stefan remarked.
"No it's, um..." Elena tried to speak with a full mouth without trying to be sick. In truth, the sandwich tasted like sawdust.
"It's disgusting." Stefan said again.
"Yeah, I'm gonna puke." Elena admitted as she spat out the sandwich into a napkin. "I never thought I'd be saying this, but I can't stop thinking about blood." she frowned.
"I should have saved you first." Stefan shook his head. "You shouldn't be going through this right now." he sighed, guilt written all over his face.
"No, if you had saved me, then Matt would be dead. What do you think I'd be going through then?" Elena insisted as Stefan poured himself a drink and took a sip. Elena got up and walked over to him, she needed to make him realize she was happy he saved matt instead of her. "Stefan, listen to me. You did the right thing. You did what you always do; you respected my choice." Elena told him.
"And what am I supposed to do if Bonnie can't figure out a way to help you, huh?" Stefan asked. "Because then you have another choice to make. Either let yourself die or be a vampire." he huffed.
"Well then, we'll cross that bridge when we come to it." Elena said, before frowning at her comment. Then she suddenly she began to laugh. "Oh my God, did...did I just say "cross that bridge"?" she continued laughing.
"You're laughing." Stefan rolled his eyes. "I'm pretty sure you don't actually think that's funny." he said.
Elena's laughing was becoming uncontrollable. "I...I can't stop though." she frowned, beginning to get worried as to what was happening to her.
"Your emotions are a bit heightened today." Stefan said. "A lot heightened." he corrected himself as Elena continued to laugh, however soon the laughter turned to tears and then she started to cry. Stefan wrapped his arms around her to comfort her. "Hey. Shh, shh. It's okay. It's okay." he said.
"I'm sorry. I..." Elena stopped, not knowing what to say.
Stefan pulled away and gently caressed her face. "Listen to me." Stefan said softly. "No matter what happens, I'm here for you. I can help you." he assured her as Elena looked out the window and squinted her eyes as the brightness of the sunlight was beginning to hurt them.
"Why don't you go back upstairs where it's dark? I'll clean up." Stefan suggested.
Elena nodded at his idea and walked away towards the stairs, constantly shielding her eyes from the sun, until she got upstairs which was free of sunlight. As she walked down the hall and towards her room, she spotted Damon sitting on her window seat, staring straight ahead.
"I thought you left?" Elena frowned, however Damon continued staring towards her bathroom door.
"Cute PJs!" Damon said as Elena looks down at her clothes, and frowned. She noticed the window behind Damon was dark, suggesting it was nighttime. A sense of dread washed over her as she began to wonder if this was another compulsion breaking through. Elena's suspicions were indeed heightened when she heard herself speaking from the bathroom. She looked back and saw herself emerging from the bathroom. Intrigued as to what Damon had forced her to forget this time, she simply decided to watch as the scene unfolded.
"I'm tired, Damon." Elena groaned as Damon got up and walked over to the other version of Elena and held up her old necklace.
"I brought you this." Damon told her.
"I thought that was gone. Thank you." Elena smiled wearily.
Elena continues to watch the scene unfold as the other version of her attempted to take the necklace from Damon but he pulled it back. Suddenly, she was alone in her room, and the sun was shining through the window. Elena gasped in shock and looked around the room, confused. As she turned her head and the memory resumed and Damon was stood in front of her, facing the other version of herself.
"I just have to say something." Damon swallowed.
"Why do you have to say it with my necklace?" Elena asked suspiciously.
"Because what I'm about to say is probably the most selfish thing I've ever said in my life." Damon admitted.
"Damon, don't go there." Elena pleaded.
"No, I just have to say it once. You just need to hear it." Damon shook his head. "I love you, Elena. And it's because I love you that I can't be selfish with you. Why you can't know this? I don't deserve you, but my brother does." he said as he kissed Elena on the forehead. "God, I wish you didn't have to forget this. But you do." he stared into her eyes compelling Elena to forget.
Suddenly the memory ended and the sun was shining brightly into her room once more. Elena touched her neck and looks down to where her necklace usually sat. She remembered there was once a time when she'd lost her necklace and it had reappeared. It was after she'd been kidnapped by Rose. Elena had never worked out exactly how she'd gotten it back, and never thought to question it.
Elena decided she needed some time alone and some privacy, just in case any more memories came flooding back. She locked her bedroom door and closed her curtains before sitting down on her bed. She didn't know what to think at the discovery of being compelled to forget parts of her life, twice by the person she trusted most in the world to be honest with her. Elena felt betrayed, although she could see why he'd done what he'd done.
Elena put her head in her hands and sighed, wondering if a shower would help. But as she sat up, her entire world had changed once more, and she was no longer in her bedroom. Instead it was once again nighttime and she was in Damon's car. Elena was sitting in the car. But instead of watching herself looking through the window of the passenger seat, she was sat touching her necklace while she waited for Damon to get in. Her face was solemn and judging from the dress she was wearing, she knew the exact night this had taken place. This was the time they'd tried to bring Stefan back from Chicago. Elena wondered what he'd compelled her to forget this time, and why this time she was experiencing the compulsion firsthand instead of watching it as a third party.
Damon climbed into the the car. "You okay?" he asked, his face full of concern.
"Just drive." Elena replied as they set off. For some absurd reason, she knew exactly what to say. After they'd been on the road for about ten minutes Elena decided to speak. "I don't want to go home. Not tonight." she said feebly.
"What do you want to do?" Damon asked.
"I need time out." Elena replied. "Five minutes away from my life. My problems will still be there when I get back, but it will be nice to just take a little break." she said.
Damon thought for a moment. "I could get a couple of rooms for us at a motel somewhere." he suggested. "Find a bar and get really, really drunk. Is that your idea of five minutes away?" he asked.
"It sounds perfect." Elena smiled a small smile. "But get a twin room. I'd prefer it if you're close by. I feel safer that way." she added shyly as Damon nodded in understanding.
"Are you sure you want to do this?" Damon frowned.
"I think we both could do with some time out." Elena replied.
"Fine, lets see what fun we can find and mischief we can make." Damon agreed as they started to look for a motel.
Thank you all for your wonderful reviews. They are always appreciated.
If you like the story, please like, follow or review. Reviews inspire me, correct my mistakes, allow me to engage and answer questions. They also help motivate me to get the following chapters out quicker. But most of all, I love to hear from you.
Mandzipop.