Angel of Small Death

Elena turned over in bed, the covers sliding off her body as sunlight crept through the curtain. The window was cracked open and a soft breeze fluttered through, raising gooseflesh on her exposed arm. It was then that she realized she was naked and that this wasn't her room. She looked over at the sleeping body next to her and recognized Damon Salvatore, her best friend of three years.

No, she thought, no, no, no. This is not happening, this can't be happening.

She must have been breathing heavily and loudly because Damon began to stir beside her. He grumbled a bit and rubbed his eyes before pulling himself up into a sitting position. Only then was it that he turned his head to look at Elena who was still lying on her side, looking up at him with her large, brown doe eyes, feeling small. He gave her a sleepy, lopsided smile, looking quite goofy, and gave a big yawn. Elena shivered and pulled the sheet up around her and sat up beside Damon, watching him from the corner of her eye. She watched as Damon's eyes began to look less sleepy and she could practically see the gears in his head turning. His head slowly turned and he stared blankly at Elena for a few moments.

"Hey," he said, his voice breaking the uncomfortable silence that had settled over his bedroom.

Elena remained silent, but her wide eyes looked around the room frantically for some kind of explanation. When she found none, the only thing she could do was look back at Damon, waiting for him to say something smart, something that would explain what on earth was going on.

What he said then was absolutely not what she'd expected to hear. "I'd offer you breakfast, but I'm too sore to move."

"Damon!" Elena shouted, torn between incredulity and laughter. "How are you not freaking out right now?"

"Are you freaking out?" he asked, sobering.

"Of course I'm freaking out! You're my best friend!"

"Elena, calm down," Damon said, taking her hand in his. "I think you and I both had a little too much to drink last night, but we can keep this between us if you want. It doesn't have to be a huge thing." He chuckled at his last statement and Elena elbowed him in the arm.

"This is absolutely not funny, Damon."

"Oh, lighten up, Elena. You do have to admit that it's a little funny. I mean, we've been best friends for three years. You're telling me you didn't feel anything between us?" Damon said.

Elena stammered. "What? No, Damon, I didn't. You're my best friend, not my – my – boyfriend!"

Damon was suddenly serious and looked slightly abashed. He said nothing.

"I should go," Elena said quietly. She stood, keeping the sheet wrapped around her body, and began gathering her clothes that were strewn about the floor. She slipped into the bathroom down the hall from Damon's room, the sheet trailing behind her. When she emerged, feeling no better about the situation, Damon was in the kitchen.

"Do – do you want to stay for breakfast?" he asked tentatively.

Elena ignored his question. "Damon, we shouldn't have done this. It was a mistake, and it can't happen again. I'm sorry." And with that, she left through the front door and began walking back home. The sun was already high in the sky, beating down on her. She could feel her bare shoulders warming under its glow, but she ignored it. Instead, she tried to remember what had happened last night.


"Damon, I want to have fun!" Elena laughed, downing another drink. Damon simply laughed at her, shaking his head, tipping back his own glass.

"Are you telling me you're not having fun as it is? I thought I was always fun," he teased.

"You are," she giggled, "but do you know, I've never seen you dance."

Damon rolled his eyes. "You should thank your lucky stars for that."

Elena punched his arm lightly. "Come on, Damon, I want to dance." She set her drink down on the coffee table and moved to the stereo, turning it on to a local station that played a upbeat song. She began moving her hips to the music, looking at Damon from under her eyelashes. "Won't you dance with me?" she murmured.

Damon set his drink down next to Elena's and moved to meet her in the middle of his ostentatiously large living room. He wasn't a shy person, but Elena had always elicited strange feelings from him. It wasn't very long after he'd met her that he'd developed a crush on her, but it had never been something he'd acted on, though he did have a propensity for saying off-color things. But Elena always laughed, would always touch his arm and shake her head as though she disapproved of what he was saying, but she never said anything to reproach him.

Damon wrapped his arms around Elena's waist as they danced. She put her arms around his neck and the song switched to a slow, sensual song. She laid her head against Damon's chest, her energetic mood ebbing away. Somewhere in the back of her mind, she knew she'd had too much to drink and Damon had too, but she didn't care. With Damon she was comfortable. She didn't have to pretend with him, like she had to with so many others. Damon knew her.


The rest of the night pieced itself together and Elena wiped a tear from her cheek. They both should have known better. It didn't matter how good it had felt in the moment – it was wrong. She and Damon – they were just friends and that was the way it needed to be. Elena had never felt anything other than friendship with Damon, though she had sensed he felt a bit more. Whatever it was that had caused her to make a different choice last night was something she didn't want to think about.

She wasn't enough of a fool to think that it hadn't felt good or right in the moment, because it had. But she had been drunk and so had he and that was a stupid time to make decisions. She was extremely thankful that they'd had the good sense to use protection, but that was where her thankfulness stopped. She was determined, though, that no one else ever found out about this. Their friendship was far too important to Elena to put it at any further risk and she knew that if it ever got out that they'd slept together, they would never hear the end of it. She didn't know if they could survive that. And that terrified her.


A/N: Hey, everyone! I have to say, it feels amazing to be back on here writing. This is the first time I've written in a very long time and never did I think I'd come back to write Delena, but here I am! Anyway, I hope you like the first chapter of AoSD. I hope to update very soon, but please leave reviews! They've always been such a huge help to me, whether they're praise or constructive criticism. Whatever you think, I'd love to hear from you.

Now, a bit more about the story: The idea popped into my head after reading a list of prompts titled "the morning after." It kind of just came to me after that and originally, Damon was Stefan, but the playful way I was writing him seemed more like Damon to me, and no matter who you ship, it's hard to deny that Damon has feelings for Elena. I'm, of course, referring to the first three seasons because I stopped watching the show somewhere in season 4 and I don't really plan on catching up either. I'd much rather watch The Originals and enjoy the first 3 seasons of TVD, but I digress. In the summary, I talk about the fact that the town is in danger. The town encompasses the other characters on the show, but I might bring in an OC or two or even some characters from the books because I'm rereading them right now. I always loved Meredith (Sulez, from the books, not Fell), so I may bring her in at some point. If you've read the books, you may know why. If not, well, you'll just have to see!

But again, thanks for reading and please leave a review! Hope to talk to you all again very soon! For possible updates and/or playlists inspired by this fic, follow my tumblr: elejahmikaelson