Holy crap! I was seriously shocked to see how many of you subscribed to and favorited this story just after the first chapter. I'm going to admit that I'm a little nervous with so many of you reading it, but I'm going to try my best not to let you all down. I should have mentioned this in the first chapter, but I am taking a more human approach with this story. There will be a tiny bit of supernatural aspects thrown in, since it is a VD story, but not too much.
Alright, this chapter is different from anything else I have ever written before and it's probably what's adding to my nerves. There is more dialogue in here than I have ever included in a single chapter. I tend to express more emotions during conversations, but since these convos were already so long, I didn't want to add too much around it in fear the chapter would get way too out of control length wise.
Also, this chapter ends pretty abruptly, but that's because these are just going to be glimpses of Elena's future. She doesn't have control over how long the memories last and so when the spell feels like enough insight has been given from that particular glimpse, it moves onto the next.
Please enjoy!
- September 1, 2011 -
I ran water over my empty dinner plate and said goodnight to Jeremy and Ric, who had settled in with us after Jenna's death, and ascended the stairs to my bedroom. I had been following this same routine every night, but as my foot breached the doorframe his voice destroyed any standard plans I had of passing out early. "We're going out," he announced as if this was some simple statement and didn't require me to put on decent clothes and treck out into a world I had so successfully managed to separate myself from.
Damon was lounging with perfect nonchalance in my window nook looking exactly like a Versace advertisement. In his black leather jacket and dark jeans he possessed the perfect mixture of dark and handsome to make any girl keel over in lust, but his sexual appeal held little effect on me now a days; only a little.
His appearances had become routine over the past three months and they'd managed to lighten my mood enough for everyone to back off and give me much needed personal space. But that extra space I'd received from everyone else had soon after been claimed by Damon.
I didn't mind really since his presence always seemed to settle my still present anxiety over his brother, whom I still hadn't heard a peep from. That's right, not a single word. No call, no text, no letter or Facebook message; not a single fucking word.
Normally when Damon came over, we just relaxed and watched a movie. Very little talking was ever involved and I knew it was Damon's way of making sure I wasn't secretly falling to pieces. The notion was sweet really, and it was comforting knowing I had someone watching my back in a subtle way, even though there was never a doubt in my mind that he always would.
Until that night he had never insisted I leave the safe haven, or was it a prison, of my room. The idea immediately filled my stomach with unease and I had no intention of submitting as I made my way to flop myself across the top of my bed. "I'm just not feeling it right now, Damon. I want to take a shower and then curl up in my bed with a nice book."
His eyes glanced to the tattered paper back lying on my bed. "Yeah, reading Pride and Prejudice for the 60th time sounds promising, but I'm going to let you in on a little secret; Elizabeth's going to end up with Mr. Darcy everytime."
"It's not about knowing the ending; it's about escaping from reality into a world where everything makes sense," I argued.
Damon scrunched up his nose at my statement. "Let me assure you that although I wasn't exactly around yet in the late 1700s, nothing about that world made sense."
I scoffed and said, "You're missing the point."
"No I'm not, I'm just dodging it. Look; I get it. The happy ending makes you all warm and fuzzy inside the same way rainbows and puppies do, but it's time you stop sulking and start living in the real world again. I know it doesn't feel like it now, with Stefan still MIA and all, but you might find that your own happy ending is still out there waiting for you." Immediately after the words left his mouth, he appeared disgusted with himself. He rubbed his face with one hand as though he was wiping away any residue lingering from the disgusting words and stood up. "We seriously need to get the hell out of this bedroom before something like that comes from my mouth again."
A smile stretched across my lips at both his reaction to his own comment and at the realization that Damon had said something along the lines of being hopefully romantic and ridiculously cliché. "That was pretty cheesy."
"It's your fault for forcing me to stoop that low and if you'd just get moving I wouldn't be forced to act like one of your menopausal girlfriends all the time." He made his way to the bed and swirled my body around so that my legs dangled off the edge. All I had to do was lower them to the floor, but I had no intention of accepting defeat that easily.
So instead I positioned my legs back on the top of my comforter and laughed for the first time in what felt like ages. The vibrations shot all the way through my toes and fingertips, filling my body with warmth it had previously been lacking, as I teased, "But you're doing such a great job at it."
He held his hand up in the air and noted, "See, you're laughing already and the night's just begun. Now get up and get a shower so we can get the hell of here."
I let my face fall as I sighed and admitted, "It just doesn't feel right getting out of this house and doing normal things while Stefan's still out there parading around with Klaus." I had no idea what parading around with Klaus actually meant; all I knew was that it meant he wasn't here with me and that pierced right through my skin like a sharp blade aimed directly for my heart.
Damon slumped a little at the downward trajectory of my mood and took a seat next to me on the bed. "Elena, I know the situation sucks, but it's time to move on; I have."
I narrowed my eyes and looked up to face him as I challenged, "I hardly consider spending every few days traveling the world out searching for him moving on."
"It's just a leftover reflex; don't look too much into it."
I knew him so much better than he gave me credit for. He still held the tiniest bit of hope that he'd eventually find Stefan and it was like a parasite constantly eating away at him. It's what kept him moving and especially what kept him out searching. Over the months, he had become a specialized master at hiding it from everyone else, but not from me. His hope was one of the biggest reasons I hadn't lost my own and it was this shared faith that had brought us closer together than ever before.
Damon had kept my beacon of light still flickering from time to time and I figured that he at least deserved some form of my cooperation after everything he had done for me in the past months. So I pushed my disdain for our future night's events aside and asked, "Alright, where exactly are you taking me?"
My acceptance of the evening's plans caused him to grin, making his face resemble one of a giddy school boy's, and responded, "Just dress comfortably, I'm not taking you to some fancy restaurant or anything."
Impulsively I pretended to appear offended and questioned, "What, I'm not worth it," but immediately regretted muttering the stupid words. We had avoided comments like this since Damon's near death experience figuring it best to simply ignore the way Damon felt about me. It worked out better for both of us this way, or maybe it just worked out better for me.
But he played it off well. There was only a moment of desolation in the very beginning of his statement as he answered, "You know you are, but I've got a little something better in mind to show you."
I threw my hands up in frustration and exasperated, "Oh, just tell me! I'm really not in the mood for surprises."
"Patience would do you a hell of a lot of good, you know? But I'm not spilling, so just shut up and get moving."
I pouted like a toddler because I knew I could get away with it before I asked, "And what do you plan on doing while I get ready?"
His eyes flickered to my door as he replied, "Well, I could go down and kick Ric and Jeremy's asses again on PlayStation, but I think I'm just going to relax here."
I lifted myself onto my elbows and with an uncomfortable uncertainty pressing against my chest I asked, "You're just going to relax in my room by yourself?"
Damon leaned back against one of my pillows and threw his arms behind his head. He looked downright comfortable as he glared back at me with that satisfied smirk slashed across his face. "Yeah, right here on your bed. The new episode of Teen Mom is on and I think it'd be a little embarrassing watching it around the other guys don't you think? They might ask me to hand over my man card and I'm rather attached to the thing."
I rolled my eyes at his obvious lie and muttered, "You're absurd."
"But absolutely charming," he finished with a wiggle of his eyebrows. "Now go!"
It took me a total of twenty minutes to shower and get ready. After throwing on a sage green t-shirt, dark jeans, and signature set of chucks, I stood up straight and placed my hands on my hips. "Ready."
Damon, who had picked up Pride and Prejudice while waiting, lifted his eyes over the top and glanced at me. "Aren't you going to dry your hair? I don't want your little human body catching a cold on our adventure."
I rolled my eyes and ran a hand through the wet strands on top of my head before I responded, "It's eighty degrees outside and it'll dry in the car."
Satisfied with my response, he threw the book onto the bed and said, "Alright then; let's go."
With the windows down and my hair flying around my face, we tore down interstate 81. As we passed yet another car with ease, I took a look at the speedometer and felt my pulse accelerate to the same heightened speed it registered. Although, my frantic heartbeat was merely a whisper compared to the roar of his car's engine, Damon had no difficulty hearing it.
He turned to look at me, lips featuring that heart-wrenching grin of his, and suggested, "Maybe you should put on your seatbelt."
I did as I was told, figuring it best if I survived the night, and realized I couldn't stand being kept in the dark any longer. "Where are we going?"
"Patience," he replied, elongating the word.
"I think I'm being pretty cooperative here, so the least you can do is tell me where we're going."
"You really are a buzz kill, you know that?" He let out an un-necessary breath of air and surrendered, "Fine, we're going to the zoo."
I stared back at him and repeated in a voice completely void of excitement, "The zoo."
Damon smiled and revealed exactly how satisfying the idea sounded to him and explained, "Yeah, I figured it might be someplace different since obviously Stefan was never able to take you. Too many tempting snacks for him to tear into if you know what I mean."
I shook my head back and forth and weakly ordered, "Don't do that."
He turned to face me with knitted brows and asked, "Do what?"
"Joke about him that way," I answered softly.
Damon sighed and refocused his attention through the front window of the car. "Elena, I can't tippy toe around you forever when it comes to him. You need to accept what's happened and learn how to handle it the same way a normal person does."
"And going to the zoo is the normal way to handle it?" I asked cynically.
"Not exactly, but animals are every girl's weakness. I figured it'd cheer you up."
It was so typical of Damon to throw his perception of my gender into the mix, but I couldn't deny that animals always had been a weakness of mine. So I gave up resisting, because what harm could possibly come from a zoo field trip, and mentioned, "They just might, but you're going the wrong way."
Damon shook his head dismissively and informed, "No I'm not. We're going to the Virginia Zoo."
"The one in Norfolk?" I asked with a slightly elevated voice.
"You didn't really think I'd take you to the one here did you?" He turned and appeared downright disappointed in my resistance. "C'mon, Elena; it only has … what, 10 animals? None in which are penguins and I refuse to go to a zoo without penguins."
"But it's two hours away," I practically moaned.
"You forget whose driving. We'll be there in thirty minutes; tops."
"I highly doubt that."
He turned to me again with an unmistaken twinkle in his ocean blue eyes. "Want to bet on it?"
I knew that he'd force me to anyway if I refused, so I just gave in without drawing it out. "Fine. What are we betting?"
"If we get there in less than thirty minutes, we do this every week; you and me. I don't care what we do just as long as we get you out of the house."
That sounded do-able enough. I had honestly expected much worse.
"I can accept that. And if I win, you have to stop running off without a clue to find Stefan. Instead, I want you to research Klaus' history and see where he's been. You never know, it might prove to be a little more effective than your method."
He looked at me with glistened puppy dog eyes and whined, "But planning isn't my style and I hate research. That's what the others are for."
I ignored his attempts to sway my offer and asked, "Do we have a deal?"
The puppy eyes disappeared as he reached his hand out to shake mine. "Deal."
We sat in comfortable silence for the remainder of the way and as we pulled past the directional sign for the Virginia Zoo in Norfolk and into the parking lot, I snuck a glance at the clock. Damnit if Damon hadn't been right. We'd made it there in a measly 28 minutes and I let out a sigh of defeat as my arms crossed over my chest.
Damon snickered beside me and teased, "You look absolutely adorable when you pout, which makes winning that much sweeter."
"Oh shut it," I muttered.
He maneuvered the mustang into the first parking spot and switched it into park when it suddenly dawned on me that we were the only car in the otherwise vacant lot. Despite the obvious observation, I blurted out, "The zoo's closed."
"Yes it is," he responded as if it didn't make a difference, which I'm sure to Damon it didn't.
"How are we supposed to visit a zoo that closed four hours ago?"
His voice was entirely too chipper considering the circumstance as he answered, "Easy. We're breaking in."
My head shook back and forth along with my criss-crossing arms as I refuted, "No, no, no we're not. I am not breaking into public property."
Damon rolled his eyes at my responsible behavior and chided, "Oh, where's your sense of adventure?"
"Buried under my sense of good judgment," I spat back.
His hand made its way to the door handle before he pushed the thing open and lifted himself from the driver's seat. "Well I'm going, so you can sit in the car and wait until I'm finished or you can tag along. It's up to you."
With that, he shut the car door leaving me behind as he made his way to the front entrance. It took me only about 10 seconds, before I threw open the passenger door and headed off to catch up with him. As I took my stride beside him, I shot a glance in his direction and noticed the satisfied smirk stretched across his lips. He was utterly beautiful when he was like this and I couldn't deny that my mood had seriously lifted since earlier. He was a cocky asshole sometimes, but apparently cocky asshole was the exact prescription I needed to rid myself of my downward funk.
We were still a good fifty feet away from the entrance when Damon stopped and headed toward the security fence surrounding the zoo. I followed his change of direction and asked, "What are we doing?"
He shushed me and replied in a low voice, "Being stealthy so keep your voice down."
I lowered my voice to mimic his and mentioned, "The entrance is that way," as we settled next to the fence.
"We're not using the entrance," he declared as he turned around and placed a hand on each side of my tiny waist. The feeling of his contact, even through the fabric of my t-shirt, sent a tremble through my body. It had been so long since anyone had touched me there and it had caught me completely off guard.
Damon must have felt it because he lowered his face down to my level and his piercing blue eyes were all I could see. "Calm down, Elena; it's just your hips. I need you to hold onto me so I can get us over this thing."
I nodded my head and laced one arm around his neck and the other around his back. Our bodies were flush against each other and I was very well aware of how close my lips were to the flawless skin of his neck. And as his arms slid past my hips and around my back, I almost sighed in content. For the first time since Stefan's departure I truly felt safe and a weird sense of satisfaction. I felt the clouds rumble in and my mind start to go hazy, when my feet left the ground and my stomach dropped a few inches.
It lasted only a second before my feet once again touched lush grass and we were on the inside of the abandoned zoo. As his arms detached themselves from around me, I let my own linger a moment longer than I should have before pulling them from around his leather jacket.
I looked up at him and saw the quizzical expression on his face and felt the need to say something; anything, to remove that suspicion. "That was fun," I blurted out stupidly.
The expression left his face as he smiled and wrapped his arm around my shoulder; the same way guys tend to do when they're acting all chummy. "The fun has only just begun, my dear. Now which animal would you like to visit first?"
By 12am, we had seen nearly every one of the 400 animals the zoo housed, including Damon's sacred penguins, and only my favorite was left. As I savored one last moment with the meerkats, I slid my arm through Damon's and leaned my head against the side of his shoulder. He looked down at me with that same quizzical expression from earlier, but didn't comment on my actions and instead asked, 'Ready to see the tigers?"
I smiled up at him and nodded my head before we made our way to my favorite attraction. As we walked, I kept my arm laced through his and couldn't help but notice how comfortable the arrangement felt. He really had somehow become my closest friend and part of me knew that I was probably hurting him a bit by continuing the way we were, but I needed it. It was selfish and I knew this, but I was sure Damon understood and I eased my guilt by assuring myself that I would eventually pay him back somehow.
Instead of focusing on the negative, I redirected my thoughts to our current adventure. I was having an amazing time and a sense of warmth spread through my chest when I considered how perfect Damon's idea for this field trip had been. He had known exactly what my tattered soul needed and the gesture had been so pure that I couldn't have been more grateful.
I found myself, once again, realizing how much I needed to repay him for this and everything else when the first tiger cage came into view. We continued heading in its direction when I finally decided to show Damon my appreciation. "Thanks for this. I really needed it." It wasn't much, but I figured it was better than nothing.
I felt Damon shrug through my hold as he nonchalantly responded, "Like I said, animals are every girl's weakness. It didn't take much thought really."
"And you would know," I said with a roll of my eyes. "But really, you don't give yourself enough credit. You put a good deal of thought into this and it means a lot."
Damon cocked his head to the side and replied, "Maybe I did just a bit, but let me ask you something." He lowered himself so that his eyes penetrated seductively into mine and asked, "Do you know what really makes girls weak in the knees?"
I rolled my eyes again at his continuous playboy demeanor and deadpanned, "No, but I'm sure you're going to tell me."
We took the last steps to reach the side of the tiger cage as Damon announced in a girlishly heightened voice, "Baby animals."
I looked through the bars just in time to see a baby tiger curl up next to its mother in the cage. I sat in awe for a few moments with my mouth dangling open before I questioned, "How did you know?"
"It doesn't take long to find anything on the internet these days."
I continued to watch the tiger helplessly as I cooed, "Oh, Damon, it's adorable."
He lowered his head down to rest beside my ear and cooed, "I bet it would just make your world if you could run your hand through its fuzzy fur."
I knew Damon too well to miss the scheme he was already preparing and I felt the need to squash it immediately. "I don't want to touch the tiger."
Damon chuckled before he bent the bars of the cage and took a step inside, ignoring my opposition completely. From the outside I shouted as loud as I could while still maintaining my whisper voice, "Damon, stop it! Get back here right now!"
He continued moving towards the mother and baby tiger as his torso turned back in my direction. He then lifted his finger to his lips indicating he needed my absolute silence.
I scoffed and placed my arms across my chest as I watched the idiotic vampire make his way to the animals. Just when he reached down to grasp the baby, he disappeared and my eyes bugged out of my head as I stared at the gaping hole of the mammal's cage. There was nothing preventing that gigantic tiger from pouncing at me if it woke up, but instead of running like an intelligent human being, I just stood there like a moron.
My hands had just managed to fall and stiffen at my sides when I felt his ice cold breath on the nape of my neck. I turned around with full intention of telling him how unimpressive his little stunt had been, when my eyes latched onto the baby cradled in his arms.
Like a girl who had finally received the pony she had always wished for, my heart collapsed and I felt myself swooning under its contagious lovability. It was just so darn cute, all cradled in Damon's toned arms; that I involuntarily found my hand reach out to sweep across its feather-like fur.
I felt Damon's eyes watching me intently before he held the tiger out and suggested, "You can hold it if you want."
I snatched the tiger up like it was a million dollars and tightened my arms around it in a big squeeze. I nuzzled my face into its soft fur before I looked up at Damon. His light eyes were shining in pure adoration and I had never felt more grateful of someone's compassion in my entire life. I was just so impressed that I couldn't stop the words from spilling from my mouth, "You really know how to make a date memorable."
Before the shock of my slip-up managed to spread over my features, Damon cocked his head to the side and corrected, "This isn't a date. It's just an escape from reality that I knew would be more effective than that stupid book."
I figured that since he wasn't going to dwell on my slip-up then I sure as hell wasn't either. So I shot him one of my appreciative smiles, because I really did appreciate the effort he had put into coming up with this successful mental escape, and replied, "It has been pretty effective."
He reached out and ran his hand across the top length of the tiger just close enough that the tips of his fingers slid against the fabric of my shirt. "If you want me to take you on a real date, all you have to do is ask," he teased although I could see that glimmer of hope in those god-like eyes of his.
I felt the moisture begin to develop in the palms of my hands and rubbed the tiger in an attempt to dry them off. I knew my jackhammering heart had already given away exactly how nervous his comment had made me, but I pretended it didn't exist and instead spoke a single word that I knew would get my point across, "Stefan."
I watched the momentary disappoint shadow his previously anticipating expression, before he composed himself with nonchalance I knew he was forcing, "I know, but at least we have our scheduled adventures now. And who knows, it might not always be Stefan," he stated with portraying eyes that suggested he understood the future progression of my own feelings better than myself.
I shook my head slowly to ensure that any hope rising within Damon diminished immediately because it was the proper thing to do. We were friends and should remain strictly that, I reminded myself.
Losing the strength to face him directly, my eyes fell to the tiger braced in my arms and I resisted the sigh fighting to escape from within. I had lost the bet and although we'd already been spending more than one day a week together since Stefan's disappearance, I couldn't disregard the idea that what Damon had in store for our weekly sessions held the possibility of wavering my feelings away from his brother and further in his direction.
I wasn't an idiot, so I knew these adventures would leave me treading in dangerously deep waters, but I was finding it incredibly difficult to ignore the portion of me insisting that giving up and sinking into the unknown didn't seem like the worst option anymore.
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