A/N: Hi all! Here's part two. I didn't even know I would be doing a part two, but it came to me in a dream...literally. As did part one. You know you read too much fanfiction when you start dreaming up new ones.
This part does contain a bit of stuff from 2x22, but it does have a bit of a spin on it, so it's not (exactly) like watching the episode in written form.
Thanks to everyone who favourite me and my story, or alerted us, or followed us, or left us a review. Or all of the above! We (being me and my story. He has feelings too, you know. Sad ones.) are incredibly grateful!
I hope you all enjoy part two. Contains a (very predictable) twist. Please enjoy!
Disclaimer; again, I own nothing. Nada. Zip. Zilch. Unless my wonderful new Damon poster counts? No? Didn't think so.
Apologies for any spelling and/or grammar mistakes.
Her body jerked upright, and her limbs fought to tug the sheet from her sweat-slicked body. Confusion took over for merely a moment, before she registered where she was; home, in her own bed. Greyish dusk light filtered in through the blinds, slanting against the bedroom floor. The alarm clock read 5:03. Elena dropped back against her pillows and wiped her face with her hands. Liquid came away, and it took her some time to register what it was. A grungy combination of sweat and tears.
The aftershock of her nightmare had her heart jack-hammering in her chest and her eyes leaking fresh tears. But it was all a nightmare.
Or not.
Reality sunk in too soon for her liking. The sacrifice; Jenna, newly-turned, a stake driven through her chest; John, giving up everything to give Elena another chance; Damon, forcing his blood between her teeth and down her throat. Damon.
She scrambled from her bed and stumbled clumsily across her room in the semi-darkness, hands grasping for the door handle. It was only when she wrenched it open and the light from the corridor spilled in, carrying with it the quiet voices of Jeremy and Alaric from downstairs, that she paused for breath. They were talking about Jenna.
"I just – I can't believe she's gone." Jeremy whispered, and Elena could hear the hollowness in his tone.
Alaric mumbled his melancholy agreement and the sound of ice on glass filled the silence.
Elena shuffled back to bed, feeling only a little more at ease. Damon couldn't be gone, it had only been days since Jenna's death. Her mind had simply added another terror to her already too-long list while she slept.
And because of that, she was far too afraid to go back to sleep. So she remained awake for the next few hours, until, at eight, a soft knock told her it was an acceptable time to be up.
The door swung open, slowly, and Stefan came in, looking a mix of uneasy and concerned.
"Morning." Elena said. Her voice came out hoarse, giving the impression she'd been crying. If Stefan noticed, he didn't mention it.
"It's, ah- it's about time to get up. We've..." Stefan paused, as though trying to force out some reluctant words. "We've gotta be at the cemetery soon."
Elena stiffened beneath the sheets, but nodded to Stefan and kept her gaze low, waiting for him to leave. He took the hint, and Elena heard the door creak and click as it closed.
"How's she doing?" Damon asked, eyes darting to the door and back. Stefan blew out a breath between his lips.
"She lost the only parents she had," He said, pursing his lips a little to hold back some near-overwhelming emotion, "She's in shock."
Damon nodded. He was worried; so, so worried about her. Stefan watched him closely for a minute as they waited for Jeremy to come back out of Elena's bedroom.
"Are you okay?" Stefan asked his brother. Damon turned sharp eyes on him, but nodded.
"I'm fine. It's not my day to be anything less." Damon bit his cheek through the lie. He was anything but okay. He had a werewolf bite eating the flesh at his elbow and making his mind swim in ways that made memory and reality blur into one indecipherable mess.
Again, Stefan pursed his lips, but he said nothing. Damon let out a breath when Stefan's gaze was turned. The bedroom door opened, and Jeremy stepped out, nodding to the two vampires.
"She'll be out soon, then we can go."
A chill wind blew, nipping through the skin of her exposed flesh as she lay the roses on the graves. Too many loved ones were buried here. This earth held too much; the ground was too full. She remembered reading something in a book, or maybe she heard it in a movie; soon there will be so many dead people there won't be enough room for the bodies. The thought brought on the tears she'd been trying to hold off.
She fought her way to her feet and looked out to see Damon in her vision, and she sobbed at the sight. His face was filled with something she couldn't place, and she labelled it as 'pain' in her head. Or at least, as much pain as a man who was willing to take away her choices could feel. The thought made her irrationally angry, once again. She dropped her gaze to the ground, away from him, and let more tears fall.
"We're all gonna head back to the house." Stefan jammed his hands in his trouser pockets and rocked on his toes, waiting for Damon to reply.
His brother twisted the daylight ring absently on his finger, looking out far ahead and seeing nothing.
"I think I'll skip the coffee and teacakes."
"Damon, she needs us right now. All of us."
"And then what's the plan, Stefan? The curse is broken. How does one go about killing an all-powerful wolf-vamp, and his two-faced older brother?"
"I have no idea." Stefan replied, resigned.
"We need to get an idea. Fast."
"I'm not gonna let Elena lose anyone else." Stefan sounded a mixture of tired and determined in his words, and it made Damon bristle.
"I wouldn't make any promises, brother." He rolled up the sleeve of his jacket and his shirt as he spoke, wincing at the pressure against the decaying flesh. His brain jostled at the fresh pain.
"What's that supposed to mean?"
"Tyler Lockwood bit me."
Damon had stopped by, and Elena felt irrationally exhausted after the visit. He wanted her forgiveness? What had he expected? Surely not a complete apology, hugs and kisses and all.
But something made her uneasy. He had looked so broken when she'd given her answer. She needed time, why was that so hard to understand? He'd seemed too resigned in his acceptance for her liking. But she didn't have time to over-analyse it; her day was planned. A movie with Jeremy, Caroline and Bonnie seemed like the perfect way to pass the time.
Home didn't feel like home, anymore. He hung his jacket on the back of a chair that didn't feel like his, and when he took a bottle of the best from the wet bar, it felt oddly like stealing. Opening the curtain felt good, though; it felt certain. And draining his glass and standing in the sun light for one last time? It felt wonderfully final. If Elena needed so long to forgive him, there was no point in sticking around for it. Sure, maybe a day or two would have been worth it, but he had no idea how long she would take. And he didn't want to wait to find out, not anymore.
Dropping his daylight ring to the floor hurt more than he had anticipated, and the blister of his skin was enough to make him want to cry out. But he didn't. He held it back, because he wanted his death to be somewhat dignified.
But the blow to his back as he collided with the floor came as a complete shock.
"Damon was bitten."
Elena's eyes bulged a little in their sockets as she took in Stefan's words. No. No no no no no. This part was a dream. This hadn't happened. This wasn't happening.
"What?" She breathed, "Is it – is – is he gonna...?"
"Yeah." Stefan dropped his eyes to his shoes and nodded, forcing the sudden rush of emotions back to wherever they came from.
"Oh my god." She whispered, and when Stefan eyed her with curiosity, she replied, "He came to the house this morning and – and tried to apologise. I practically slammed the door in his face." She kept the dream to herself. That was what had shocked her the most. She struggled a little to keep calm, but managed to force the muscles of her face to remain steady as Stefan began to speak again.
"He told me not to tell you, but I figured if you wanted to talk to him, I wouldn't wait."
Elena wanted to head straight to the Boarding house, but she paused in the car to relieve some of the pressure in her mind and chest. She let some tears and some sobs run their natural course, and allowed the emotions to well, because she didn't want to release them in front of either of the Salvatore brothers. The intensity of the emotional pain she felt right now was, sadly, not a new sensation. She'd felt it at three memorable times in the past. Once on the night her parents died, again on the night of the Sacrifice, and on one other occasion. This last time stood out, because there was no real reason for her to feel such pain. It was a poem she'd read in a book she couldn't remember the name of that had given her such a terrible, irrational grief.
She rocks in the wooden chair once; twice; thrice,
And thinks about everything and nothing
And the floorboards creak beneath her feet,
But nobody is around to care.
Outside the wind blows hard; strong; fast,
And she wants more than anything to be outdoors
And she watches the glass panels rattle in the pane
Wishing somebody was there.
A tap on the door sounds knock; knock; knock,
And she waits for the visitor to leave
And she knows that they won't stick around long
She thinks 'This isn't fair'.
The bathroom door locks, thud; click; click,
And she sits on the bath rim with a razor in hand
And thinks 'the world will do fine without me.'
The pain is more than she can bear.
The blood hits the tiles with a drip; drip; drip
And she panics as the world begins to fade
And she wants it to stop. She calls out for help.
But nobody is around to care.
A/N: So, another depressing ending for you! But I'm planning a part 3 (should end there, unless it takes so long for me to write that I publish it when it's only half done...again) so keep your eyes peeled for more.
Sorry that this one is mostly scenes from the episode, but I needed a filler between the first chapter and the next one. Fingers crossed you all enjoy it? Please let me know what you think
Reviews are always always always welcome, never forget that!
Much love,
Someone x
