New story. Just gotta love these four o'clock in the morning dreams o'mine. Let me know what you guys think please, by pushing that little purply-blue review button, eh? See you on the flip side.
- M.
"I want to go swimming." Elena knew that it was warm enough, and sunny enough. But she was restless. Her aunt looked at her funny, then shrugged.
"If you can find someone to open up and clean the pool, be my guest," she replied. "I've got to work all day."
Elena smiled. "I really want to swim at night. All nice and peaceful, maybe turn on the pool lights? There's supposed to be a full moon tonight." She turned to her brother, who threw up both his own hands.
"Don't look at me, Elena. Why should I do something that doesn't benefit me?" Typical brother. Elena rolled her eyes and just sat there, her fork pushing through her food as her mind worked.
"Nevermind. I'm sure I can get Stefan to help."
Later that afternoon:
"I can't, Elena. I have to help Mrs. Flowers with some repairs on the house. If I hadn't already promised her, I do it for you."
"Do what for you?" Elena started as Damon spoke from behind her. His eyebrow raised to the heavens as he looked at her as a hunter does its prey. If it weren't for the fact that she knew he'd never really hurt her, she'd have been scared stiff by now.
"Clean out the pool so I can go for a swim. I need it done quickly, and I can't do it alone," she replied. The look on Damon's face was priceless. "Why don't you hire someone," he said. Elena laughed aloud. "Do I look like I can afford it?" She sighed, resigned to the fact that she likely wouldn't get what she wanted in time for the full moon tonight. As if hearing her thoughts, Damon nodded. "Ah, it's a full moon. You want to swim under the moonlight. I get it."
Stefan watched the exchange closely. Damon was up to something. He didn't know what, but telling by the change in his brother's demeanor, he knew Damon would suddenly agree to do it. As if on cue....
"Okay. Fine. What do I get out of it?" Damon questioned. He leaned against the side of the boarding house, the arms of his leather jacket crinkling with his movements. He had affected the perfect pose, seemingly uninterested in the world. Elena was used to it.
"I don't know. I guess you could go swimming, too," she replied. There went Damon's eyebrow again. As if he could be bothered to go swimming.
"Nevermind. I'll do it out of the kindness of my heart." Stefan looked at his brother, wondering just what was he up to. Damon felt the weight of his brother's gaze and rolled his eyes. "Don't worry, little brother. Your girlfriend's safe with me." Damon turned and followed Elena to her car, making sure to wink at Stefan as he slid effortlessly into the passenger seat. "Let's go."
"You have got to be kidding me. This is what I have to help clean up?" Damon looked at the pool in disgust and at Elena in disdain. "When was the last time this thing was tended to?" The pool had been covered up when he arrived, and as he removed it he was greeted with a pile of leaves hidden in the green algae of the pool water. There was even a dead animal somewhere within. His sensitive nose smelled its rotting corpse.
"Well, we didn't use it last year at all. So, likely two years," Elena replied. Truth be told, she hadn't a clue. Something inside her had sparked this humongous urge to go swimming in the moonlight. It was so strong she could taste it. She heard Jeremy open the patio door. "More like three, I think," he answered. Jeremy made a disgusted noise in his throat before continuing. "The last time it was used was my 15th birthday party. Remember when Peter Hilland thought he was drowning, and was only in three feet of water? It was hilarious when he finally put his feet to the bottom. Don't think I've ever seen a guy turn that red before." Elena nodded as Jeremy sipped on his can of soda. He took a tour of the pool then patted Damon on the shoulder as he started for the patio door again. "Good luck, man. You're going to need it."
Damon gave him a pained smile and fought the urge to give him the finger. It was his own fault that he'd agreed to do this before ever looking at the place. "So, is your brother going to be home all day?" he asked. Slowly he began to use a skiff to pull out some of the leaves while he talked to Elena. "You know, this would be a lot easier and a LOT faster if no one was home."
Elena nodded. She knew he was right. "Well.... I guess I could take him to the grocery store or something," she shrugged. "Would that help?"
"Immensely," he replied sarcastically. "What is the reason you want to go swimming? I mean, you couldn't wait a week or two?" Damon watched her out of the corner of his eye as he moved around the pool. She began to stare off into space before answering him. "No. I've just got this...urge...to go swimming tonight. Like I said, offer still stands," she replied. Suddenly her eyes gained focus and she continued. "Right. I'll go get Jeremy and head to the store. Will an hour do it?"
Damon smiled, but it didn't reach his eyes. "Yes. I should be finished in an hour. Go on." He waved her away and she took the cue. It would teach him to leap before looking. The one thing he couldn't rush was water, so he dropped the skiff and walked over to turn the pump onto drain while hooking up a large hose to clean the bottom of the pool. By night's end, if she turned the pool's heater on while it was filling up, she would have a nice, warm swim. The sound of car doors closing was his starting point as he kicked into vampire overdrive and attacked the job ahead of him.
"This is....wow. Thank you, Damon." Without thinking, Elena reached over and hugged him. He patted her on the back and she slowly let go, realizing what she'd done. "Sorry."
"No need. There seems to be something in the air today," he replied. It was how he felt. Something, indeed, was going on around them, but he couldn't taste the flavor on the wind. Just for precaution's sake, he asked her a few questions. "Is Jeremy going to use the pool, too?"
Elena turned and looked at him. "While it's his right to do so, I want to swim alone tonight - provided you don't come swimming, too." Her eyes never quite met his. She didn't exactly want him to swim with her, thinking it might be a little uncomfortable.
Damon's eyes narrowed again. "And Stefan can't come?" he asked. Elena shook her head in response. "Well, then, I just might stop by. Just to make sure everything's all right. When does your aunt come home?"
"What are you not saying, Damon?" She looked at him thoughtfully. He sensed something. She knew it. "Never mind. Just come tonight. I'm sure everything will be uneventful. My aunt will be home in another week." Elena turned and headed for the door. "Do you need a ride home?"
Shaking his head, Damon still wasn't convinced about the powers that be. "No, I'm fine. I need to go hunting. See you tonight."
And he was gone, leaving Elena to stare after him.
Elena suddenly wished her aunt hadn't gone out of town for work that day. At least then Jeremy would have listened to authority. As far as he was concerned, Elena was in charge of nothing.
"Hey, it's a free country, sis," he yelled from the far side of the pool. "Come on in." It wouldn't have really bothered her if it had just been her brother. But as Elena looked around, she recognized almost all of the twelve other faces in and around the pristine water that Damon had prepared for her enjoyment. The Gaines twins, looking every bit like James VanDerBeek, waved at her from the deep end, their skeevy smiles fully in place. She gave a tiny wave back, not wanting to be rude. To her left were the Angelos, brother and sister about three years apart. It looked like Jeremy had invited most of the neighborhood.
Shrugging, she walked over to one of the lounge chairs. The light was starting to fade from the sky at the same time the moon had begun rising. The stars in the clear sky began to twinkle light diamonds, and Elena thought that aside from the overabundance of people in her private abode, it would have been magic. She slipped out of her white towel to reveal the light turquoise colored one piece she had worn outside and used a tie to pull her hair back into a loose bun.
The water was just this side of cool when she started down the stairs. Oblivious to those around her, she acclimated to the water quickly as the goosebumps faded the closer she got to the deep end. It was warmer there, the heater for the pool located nearer to the far wall where the pool's lights rotated in shades of green, purple, yellow, pink and blue. As she glided through the water, she sensed the twins moving toward her, briefly glimpsing their heads going under the water as they moved like sharks after prey. Her back hit the wall and she realized they had her cornered.
"Great." But someone else was faster. Moving with his typical blinding speed, Damon managed to swim through the water and past the two teenagers, popping up right in front of Elena. She gasped, catching her breath as Damon turned around and gave the boys a smile with menace underneath it. "Sorry, boys," he said. "Better luck next time."
The twins looked chagrined, but took the hint and swam away. Damon turned around and through his wading had effectively moved Elena into a corner. She was trying to keep some distance between them, apparently. His smile widened and his eyes twinkled. "What would my dear brother think of this?" Mischief lined his features.
"Damon...thanks. Thanks for that...for this," she replied, ignoring the topic of Stefan altogether. Damon had saved her from embarrassment, had made her swim possible. The moon and the stars called to her, and she managed to block out everything but the man swimming before her and the light shining upon the surface of the water. They stayed like that for who knew how long - Elena looking up at the sky, Damon watching her and keeping tabs on all of those around them.
He thought about how Elena reminded him of Katherine. But there were subtle differences, apparent only if you watched Elena closely. The way she chewed her bottom lip when she was nervous. The fact that she actually cared about him, even though Damon had given her absolutely no reason to. He'd been rude and often cruel, where she and Stefan were concerned. His hands went up on both sides of her, gripping the concrete lip of the pool to steady himself. It got her attention.
"Damon, what...." she stopped. There was a look in his eyes, almost a longing. She didn't have time to respond, to speak, to even think as he darted in and kissed her. Bells were going off in her head telling her to stop it. Her palm went up to his chest to push him away, but as her fingers found skin she felt herself giving into the kiss, wrapping her legs around his as she tried to stay afloat.
"What the hell is going on here?" Stefan said coldly, anger flaring with each word. It broke the magic, Damon looking at his brother like he was a fly buzzing about. Elena fought to catch her breath as she looked around Damon, realizing suddenly that everyone had gone. They had been out there that long.
"Stefan...I...." But she didn't have time to finish the thought as Stefan grabbed Damon, ripping him out of the water. Elena felt her head hit the concrete wall behind her, and everything went black.
