SUMMARY: He'd been reduced to a simmering fire, but her comment had dowsed his flames in gasoline. Now? Now he was a roaring fire, destructive and uncaring.'
Disclaimer: I don't own any aspect of The Vampire Diaries, novel or television series. Now please read the story while i go cry over this sad fact...
A/N Things in italics are thoughts. It's pretty obvious which are Elena's and which are Damon's.
Strong arms engulfed her like a flame almost immediately after she'd run from his grasp. Squeals emitted loudly from her mouth as she flailed in his arms, broad smiles on both their faces.
"You can't run from me you know...I'm simply too fast..." He gloated planting a kiss on the side of her face.
Spinning in his arms, she wrapped her slender arms around his neck, meeting the gaze of his piercing blue eyes with hers. Dropping her eyes she blushed, one simple look from him was all it took to reduce her to a quivering wreck.
"Well...Maybe if I was a vam-" Cutting the sentence short, she froze. Had she really just thought that? Very nearly said it? So caught up in her own thoughts, she failed to realise how the arms around her tensed, how his carefree smile vanished. Replaced by an emotionless blank expression.
Too busy berating herself for her own thoughts; she only thought of him when she felt the air shift. He'd gone. Ghosted out of the room silently.
"Fuck." She mumbled almost inaudibly. You shouldn't have said that Elena. Well-fucking-done. Hastily following in the direction she thought he'd gone in she found herself back in the glorious living room. Intuition had proved right because there he was, his back turned to her as he stared into the roaring fire.
"It just came out, Damon...I didn't mean anything by it..." Trailing off when she realised he wasn't listening, she cautiously walked to his side. Risking a glance in his general direction confirmed her suspicions; his brows were furrowed in deep thought. So much in fact, that he didn't even seem to notice her presence. Subsequently this made Elena feel ten times worse. There was his 'I'm-thinking-of-normal-everyday-things-like-what-we'll-do-tomorrow' face. And then there was THIS face. Despite their extremely subtle differences, Elena could tell them apart in a heartbeat. Probably even faster.
Deciding to sit on the couch and wait for Damon to stop brooding, Elena wondered what the HELL he was thinking.
And there it is. The great flaw in the relationship, albeit not the only one. But the largest one nonetheless. The question of immortality. I'm a vampire, she's not. I won't die, she will. I want to be with her forever, she - presumably - feels the same way, yet she's not prepared to turn. Hell am I prepared for her to turn? Do I REALLY want that life for her? I hate it. And I resent both Katherine and Stefan as the main reasons for me being a vampire. Even if she does make the choice to turn, what's to say that a decade, or a century down the line, she won't regret her decision...And myself along with it?
On the other hand, if I don't turn her, I'll have to watch her succumb to the pitfalls of mortality and leave forever. True, I could simply leave - never see her again and try to move on. But I know that's not even a plausible option. If I DID ever gather the sheer willpower it would take to leave her, what would stop me coming back? Obviously I'd check on her. There's no way I could EVER leave her and not once look back.
So my options so far;
Turn her (Only if she agrees) but then risk, not only her becoming a monster, but also her turning round one day and hating me for it. Neither of which are enjoyable outcomes.
Don't turn her, even if she wants me too, and watch her grow old and die (Probably with another man as I wouldn't expect her to maintain a single status for the rest of her life).
Wow. Both options seem pretty shit. And unfortunately, what with her being human, the time would come when we'd both be forced to make a decision.
But wait a minute...I know PRECISELY what I could do...
Before Elena could absent mindedly twirl another strand of hair, the air shifted in the room. Looking up, she immediately noticed the now vacant space in front of the fire. He'd left.
Mere minutes later and Damon was staring at the outside of the grill. Hesitating for only a few seconds, he walked inside. Making a bee line straight for the bar, he didn't even bother his usual glance around. Why did he care who was in here anyway? It wasn't like it mattered who watched him get drunk.
Immediately ordering a bourbon he sat himself at the less occupied end of bar. Not wanting to chat mindlessly to anyone right now. As he waited for the bartender to serve him his drink, he attempted to keep his mind blank. He knew that if he thought about his 'plan' anymore than he already had, then he'd almost definitely change his mind. That couldn't be done.
Somewhere between his seventh and eighth drink, he was joined by an unfamiliar blonde women, whom he deemed attractive enough for his attention. Blushing slightly as he broke the ice, the woman in question tucked a lock of hair behind her ear she looked at him. Introducing herself as Corina.
Making an attempt to catch him up drink-wise, Corina soon became extremely intoxicated. And surprisingly, her 'interesting' levels rose simultaneously to her blood-alcohol levels.
Several drinks later and she was practically sat on Damon's lap, who obviously had no objection to this. Corina had proved herself a worthy drinking buddy; despite her current state, he thought she'd matched him quite well. Especially since she caught up with his 2 hours of drink before her arrival in about 40 minutes flat.
Whispering in her ear he got the both of them of the bar stool, grabbed her hand and led her outside. Laughing as the both of them stumbled and nearly fell on several tables along the way.
Not feeling sober enough to make the both of them back to the boarding house in one (Well, technically two) pieces, he led her down a nearby ally. Almost immediately their lips connected in a hungry battle, their tongues invading the others mouth as they fought for dominance. Hands travelling up her back, Damon pinned her against the wall, his mouth still attacking hers as her hands tangled in his hair. Shamelessly grinding himself against her core, he trailed his lips down to the crook in her neck. Instinctively, she moved her hair out of the way, extending her neck towards him as her eyes closed in pleasure.
Lovely, she's practically giving me an open invitation...
Smirking as he continued grinding, he allowed the Demon inside him to take over. More than familiar with the process, he continued kissing and nipping her neck as veins under his eyes became red and prominent, as his fangs elongated and pierced his gums. Not a second after the transformation had completed, he bit into her neck. In such a way that made her legs buckle, her heart race and her arousal increase.
Normally, he made them fear him, but arousing them and pleasing them had a very similar effect on the heart rate, and subsequently, the blood and the taste of it.
Drinking deeply, he savoured the taste of the blood, allowing it to run down his throat. Not long after he'd bit, he heard her heart rate slowly decreasing. At this point he wrapped his arms even tighter around her, an action done simply to keep her upright. Eventually her groans stopped, and her hands (Which had been gripping the back of his shirt tightly) now hung limply by her side.
Swallowing the last few drops of blood, he dropped her carelessly to the ground. The 'thud' resonating down the narrow alley. Wiping his mouth, he looked down towards her, wondering how best to dispose of her body - If at all - When somebody cleared their throat.
Looking up immediately, he put his senses on high alert, ready to kill who ever had witnessed his true nature. Luckily, it was only Elena. Disappointment was etched across her face, her arms folded in a stance that just sent off waves of superiority. Unbeknownst to her, this didn't affect Damon the way it normally would...This was exactly what he wanted.
You see, his plan - The one he'd desperately not thought about to prevent any kind of hesitation, was this. Kill. Maim. Injure. Destroy. Basically commit any kind of violent, uncaring act that would piss Elena off. If he pretended to lose his humanity, she'd eventually give up on him. Deem him unworthy of her time. That way, he'd be forced to leave, and even if he wanted to return, it wouldn't be allowed by either Elena or anyone that cared about her.
Sauntering down the alley towards her, he looked at her coldly, licking his lips as he wandered past her and back into the bar. Phase 1 was beginning. He'd definitely be banished from her life by the end of the year, no matter how much it killed him inside to do it.
It was time he faced it, as much as he loved her, he couldn't be with her. Clearly, it was in her best interests that he leave. Even if it meant disappointing and possibly even hurting her in the process.
Blinking rapidly, Elena tried desperately to take in what she'd just witnessed...Obviously her comment had really screwed Damon up in the head. Neither of them could even remember the last time he drank from a human (Directly anyway) let alone killed one. And so callously! Dissolving into tears, Elena blamed herself completely. He's once been so cold, uncaring and callous, but she'd restored his humanity. He'd been reduced to a simmering fire, but her comment had dowsed his flames in gasoline. Now? Now he was a roaring fire, destructive and uncaring. She only hoped she could salvage him from the ruins of his own mind once more.