A/N: Sorry for how long it took for this update! I've been working very hard on the latest three chapters of "It Was Never A Choice" and putting this one off. I hope you enjoy this chapter!
Chapter 2
When they were well over two hundred miles away from Mystic Falls, Elijah found them a hotel – five star, no less. Elena, despite her sudden and overwhelming exhaustion, couldn't help but be awed by the grandeur of the hotel. She noticed the corner of Elijah's mouth twitch as he watched her out of the corner of his eye. She ignored him nonetheless as they walked up to the front desk, where the receptionist was only too happy to give them the penthouse suite for the night. Elijah hadn't even had to use compulsion on the woman – his charm was compelling enough. It was now, at one in the morning, that Elena realized she had nothing to chance into. She didn't dare say anything to Elijah, though she wondered if he was thinking the same thing as he looked down at his navy blue suit and adjusted it. She wordlessly followed him into the elevator that took them to their suite. At least awkward sleeping arrangements wouldn't be necessary. Though Elena knew she could trust Elijah, she wasn't sure how to act around him. The Original held himself to a high standard, spoke so eloquently, dressed so dapperly, that she found herself trying to meet his expectations for himself. She stood straighter, thought long and hard before she spoke, and, however unnecessarily, walked on eggshells around him. He was a one-of-a-king, and Elena regretted that she had ever considered daggering him. To her, he was not the "evil, Original vampire" that Stefan and Damon made him out to be, nor was he the "Easter Bunny" like Rose had said. Elena laughed to herself at the thought of comparing Elijah to a fictional rabbit that delivered eggs. Elijah could be threatening when he wanted and he could also be kind, fair, and gentle. Whatever the case, he never broke his word and he never did something without just cause.
Elijah held open the door to the penthouse for Elena and she stepped over the threshold and into the most luxurious hotel room she'd ever seen. She felt like she had stepped into the hotel in Pretty Woman. Any moment now, Richard Gere was going to walk in, she was sure of it.
Elijah broke her out of her reverie after amusedly watching her take in the room. "I suppose," he said, making her jump, "we'll have to sleep our clothes. I'll find us a store in the morning where we can get suitable replacements."
Elena nodded, blushing as her stomach chose a completely inopportune moment to rumble loudly. Elijah emitted a small and fleeting chuckle. "I'll order room service, shall I?"
"That'd be great, thanks," Elena replied awkwardly.
While Elijah ordered off the menu, Elena made her way into the pristine bathroom off the main bedroom and turned the shower on. She had to force herself to remember that she left Mystic Falls by choice. She missed Stefan – she loved Stefan – and even Damon, a little. But she couldn't keep living her life this way, having decisions made for her. That was why she'd chosen to leave with Elijah. She trusted him wholeheartedly – his word was important to him, just as hers was. Elena shook her head, clearing it. It was too late – or early, rather – for dwelling on all this heavy stuff. She undressed quickly and got into the shower, letting the hot water wash away her exhaustion and troubles. It was a temporary solution for an ongoing problem, but it worked for now.
When Elena had finished and redressed, she made her way out into the living area of the penthouse. There, she found Elijah, sitting comfortably on the the large sofa, and a large amount of food in front of him on the coffee table. Elena gawked from behind Elijah's back at all the food.
"I hope this isn't all for me," she half-laughed, her breath coming out in a nervous huff.
"Eat what you like," said Elijah. "I wasn't sure what you preferred, so I ordered a wide array of items. I'll be in my room if you need me."
He stood up from the couch and began making his way to the second bedroom in the penthouse.
"Elijah?" she said hesitantly, turning around to face him.
He stopped and turned back, his eyebrows raised, waiting for her to speak.
"Thank you for taking me with you. I couldn't stand the thought of staking you after everything you've done to keep me safe. I know you could've just taken the dagger and run, especially after Damon did what he did. But you didn't. So, thank you."
Elijah nodded graciously. "Good night, Elena. Sleep well."
With that, he retreated into the dark bedroom, closing the door behind him. Elena half-smiled at Elijah's reply to her confession and then turned her attention to the smorgasbord before her.
Meanwhile, in Mystic Falls, Stefan was attempting to keep Damon under control and keep the lakehouse intact.
"You need to calm down, Damon," Stefan growled, throwing his brother up against a wall.
"How can you be okay with this?" Damon countered, shoving Stefan off him and into the opposite wall. "Pretty boy Original just ran off with your girlfriend! Who knows where he's taking her, what he's doing to her?"
"I'm just as thrilled about this as you are, Damon, but we can't just run after them blindly! We need to have a plan. The only thing I'm sure of right now is that Elijah won't hurt her. No matter what we've done to piss him off, he would never harm, or let harm come to, Elena."
Damon rolled his eyes. "You're really pathetic," he spat. "The last thing I need you to do is put your trust in an Original. I know you, and you want to get Elena back as badly as I do. So let's get in the car and go."
Stefan sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. "Dammit, Damon! Don't do this to me! I need to think, come up with a way to get Elena back."
"I am so tired of your shit," Damon said, exasperated. He really was. "You can sit here, brooding and existing in your own head, but I'm leaving. I'm going to find Elena – with or without you." Stefan kept his head hung, ignoring Damon. Waiting for Stefan to move, to say something, seemed to be a lost cause, and Damon turned and walked out of the lakehouse's living room. As walked through the front door – the door frame, rather, as the the door was lying at the end of the hall – he heard Stefan come into the hall.
"Fine," he conceded, walking down the hall begrudgingly to join Damon at his vehicle.
"I like this, Stef. Road trip bonding. Suits us well, doesn't it?" Damon remarked, his usual, haughty smirk emerging on his face.
Stefan didn't reply, still put-out that Damon had gotten his way. It wasn't that he didn't want to save Elena – he wanted that more than anything – he just didn't want to go into this blindly.
"We seem to be doing a lot of this lately," Damon continued on, speaking to himself more than to Stefan.
"Let's try and keep it to a minimum," Stefan growled. "Do you even know where we're going?"
Damon had been speeding down the highway out of Mystic Falls for more than hour, darkness still hanging over them. "I figure Elijah likes to travel in luxury, so when we get to the nearest big city and check the most grand, five star hotel, we'll find them."
"You've actually thought this through, haven't you?" Stefan said incredulously.
"Don't act so surprised, Stef," Damon snorted.
"I know you love her, too, Damon," Stefan murmured. At the same moment Stefan began speaking, Damon reached for the volume control on the dash panel and cranked it up, drowning out Stefan. Of course, Damon knew what he was saying, but didn't want to go there. They'd just had this conversation a few weeks ago, for god's sake. Couldn't Stefan just leave it alone for a while? He preferred their playful banter back and forth to when Stefan tried to delve into the deeper subjects. It was going to be a long drive.
Elena had been asleep for eight hours when she awoke, hearing Elijah puttering around in the living area. She figured it was his way of telling her to get up. She found that she was well-rested and ready to greet the morning. It was quarter to ten and she figured Elijah would want to get a move on. She quickly fixed herself up in the bathroom and came out to face Elijah.
"Good morning," she said brightly.
"Good morning. Did you sleep well?" he asked cordially.
"Yes, thank you."
"I'm glad to hear that. Are you ready?" It was obvious he had been itching to leave for hours but didn't want to wake her.
Elena nodded, following Elijah out of the penthouse and into the elevator. They rode it down in comfortable silence and when they came out into the lobby, the same receptionist bid them good morning.
"I hope you enjoyed your stay," she said brightly, smiling widely.
"It was very pleasant," affirmed Elijah.
"Enjoy Blacksburg," she replied, waving to them as they exited the hotel.
As Elijah drove, Elena remained silent. There was no music in the car, no noise apart from the familiar clip-clop of the tires on the street. Finally, Elijah pulled into a Target and parked. He gave Elena a credit card. She stared up at him as if he were crazy.
"Buy whatever you need," he told her.
"Elijah, I can't just take your credit card!" Elena gasped.
"I insist," he smiled and began making his way toward the men's suits. It figured. Elena wondered if he even owned a pair of sweatpants.
Credit card in hand, Elena walked over to the women's section where she began picking out tops, bottoms, and all manner of other necessities. After trying the majority of the items on, she proceeded to the checkouts where she slid Elijah's card, feeling completely guilty as she read the total on the screen. He was going to kill her.
She went outside to wait by the car, only to find that Elijah was already there. He said nothing in response to the amount of bags she was carrying, and only smiled at her as she approached with a sheepish expression on her face. He took her bags and placed them in the backseat, and when he turned back around, Elena was holding out the credit card.
He shook his head. "Keep it," he said.
"Elijah, I am not going to keep your credit card!"
"I insist," he said in a mirror of their previous conversation.
Elena rolled her eyes and got into the car, shutting the door a little harder than necessary.
As he walked around the car, Elijah couldn't help but chuckle. She was such a challenge, but that was what he enjoyed about her. When he got in, he noticed droplets of water collecting on his windshield, but he hadn't felt rain.
"It's snowing!" Elena smiled, leaning forward to look out at the cloudy sky. "It's not even November."
"I'm sure there will be more where that came from," said Elijah.
"What does that mean?" Elena asked, confused.
"How do you feel about Wisconsin, Elena?"
As Elijah pulled out of the Target parking lot, Stefan and Damon were walking into the hotel. Stefan pulled out the picture of Elena he kept in his wallet and showed it to the receptionist.
"Have you seen her?" he asked.
"I'm afraid, for security reasons, we can't divulge any information about our hotel's residents –"
Damon growled and pushed Stefan out of the way. "Let me handle this, will you?" He turned to face the receptionist, a menacing expression on his face. He leaned in, his eyes dilating as he spoke. "Have you seen her?"
"Yes," replied the receptionist, her voice emotionless. "She came in last night with a man in a suit." Damon gave Stefan a significant look. "They left about an hour ago."
"Thank you," said Stefan absently as he and Damon hurried out of the hotel.
"My bet," said Damon as he hurriedly put his car in drive and peeled out of the hotel parking lot, "is that they're already gone."
"I agree, but we have no idea where they're going. North, south, east, west, they could be going anywhere."
"I don't think Elijah would double back and go east, so we can rule that out," said Damon, running a red light.
"Would you watch what you're doing?" Stefan shouted.
"Why, because getting hit by a car will kill us?" Damon spat.
"No, because I'd rather not kill anyone else!"
Damon rolled his eyes, but stopped for the next red light. "Happy now?"
"Absolutely thrilled."
Elijah had been driving for just under six hours when Elena piped up.
"Do you think we could stop? The human's hungry."
"Oh, of course," Elijah said, taken aback. How could he keep forgetting that she needed to eat? "Forgive my forgetfulness, Elena."
"It's okay, Elijah," laughed Elena. "It's not like I'm wasting away to nothing."
"Where would you like to eat?" he asked.
Elena spotted a Denny's and decided that was just fine. "Denny's is good," she said.
He pulled into the parking lot and killed the engine. He held open the door to the restaurant for Elena and a hostess greeted them cheerfully.
"Good afternoon," she said, leading them to a table. "What can I get to drink for you?"
"I'll have water," Elena said.
"I'm fine, thank you," Elijah said politely.
"All right, I'll be right back with your water," said the hostess, handing Elena and Elijah each a menu.
When Elena had finished eating and Elijah had payed the bill, they got back in the car.
"Sorry to make you watch me eat," Elena muttered.
"Elena, don't apologize. It's not a problem at all. I've had centuries and centuries to get over the fact that I will never enjoy human food again. Don't feel the need to justify your actions to me. You're human and I'm not."
Elena was slightly taken aback by Elijah's speech. She supposed she should get over it, too, but she hadn't expected him to be so frank. Before she could say anything in response, Elijah spoke again.
"I hope you don't mind if I drive straight through. I'd rather get to our destination in one day."
"That's fine," answered Elena, staring out at the blue sky. The snow had stopped soon after they left Blacksburg and the sky over Dayton a clear, cloudless blue. She saw it as a good omen, that this was the right thing to do. It was then that she realized that she hadn't thought of the Salvatores at all that day. It felt good.
