Chapter Two: Changing.
A/n: Thank you all for the feedback, favouriting and adding to your aletts so far! We both appreciate it a lot. This is the most response I have ever gotten for a story so quickly, so thank you! Keep it coming. Updates should be regular, as we are so far along in our roleplay, that we probably have like ten chapters worth already XD Hope you enjoy this just as much as we enjoyed playing it out..and be ready for you Delena feels to explode! We're good at doing that. ;D
As Elena began to speak, Damon felt emotions begin to stir up in him. What was she saying? Did he really let himself dare to hope...? She'd chosen Stefan, right? It was Stefan. It was always going to be Stefan. So what was she saying? What did she mean? "E-Elena," he interrupted, voice shaking with emotion. "What do you mean? You'll still be...I mean, you are...you're always going to be Elena. We can get you back, we..." But he trailed off as she continued to speak, mouth agape slightly. If she still wanted Stefan...why was she saying this? Did he let himself think, even for a second, that it was him she wanted? It couldn't be. "Maybe if you and I had met first." That's what she'd said. Then did that mean that she remembered? That the particular memory of them meeting had come back already? It could in transition, or when you fully turned. Did she...?
Her next sentence was one he knew he would always remember. Talking about their phone call, which had more than broken his heart, and saying that wasn't her real decision, meant... And then she said it. 'I choose you, Damon.' For a moment, the vampire was completely still as he let it sink in. "Y-you what?" he asked, similar to what he'd replied to Meredith when finding out Elena had died with vampire blood in his system - his blood, in fact. Before Damon could say anything though, she had ripped the bag open and begun to drink. He tried not to inhale the scent, knowing now was not a time for blood lust. Instead, he watched on a little helplessly. When she whimpered in pain, he took her free hand in his again, squeezing it lightly, wanting to do anything to help, even though she was probably much too far gone... "It's alright, Elena. It's okay," Damon said quietly, though it was probably pointless, comforting him more than her really.
Elena let a small growl pass through her lips, as the pain became unbearable. "Make it...stop, Damon." she said, when she found that she was able to speak again. She could lightly feel his hand in hers, giving her a reassuring squeeze. Lifting up the bag slowly, she continued to drink the rest. Suddenly, all the pain just stopped, and where her canines should have been, sharp fangs protruded instead. Her eyes, instead of the once chocolate brown they used to be, where now completely red, and veins sprawled out underneath. She turned to look at Damon, and a growl escaped her lips. "Move." she hissed. When Damon wouldn't budge she moved slightly, she had blood. But she wanted more, fresh, warm. And straight from the source.
Suddenly, at a supernatural speed she wasn't used to, she was up out of bed, and by the door. Though, Damon was faster as he stood in front of her. "Move, Damon." she hissed. Her eyes watched him carefully, she found her escape and pulled open the door, escaping out into the hallway. The first person she saw was Meredith. "Elena...what are you doing?" she heard her ask, but over all that she could hear the beating of her heart, the blood racing through her body.
"I just...needed your help."
"Help? With what? Elena, are you okay?" Meredith asked.
"I will be." she said, and lunged forward her teeth sinking into her neck.
Damon was helpless. He hated seeing her in pain. It was over before he could say or do anything, though. Seeing her face like that was a shock. Sure, he should be used to it, but this was Elena. She didn't look exactly like Katherine, either, which didn't make sense - it must have been the straight hair, and the fact that he knew this was Elena. But his Elena, human Elena...she wasn't supposed to look like this. Her growl was even worse. Damon anticipated her move a second before she did so, rushing to the door just before she reached it. He couldn't stop her though and before he knew what was happening, she had moved past him, out of the door, and into a big hospital, full of humans - and blood. "Elena, no!" he shouted, but it was too late.
Damon rushed after her, reaching her a second before it happened. Just in time to watch everything happen; to see her lunge and sink her teeth into Meredith's neck. The vampire followed her, grabbing hold of Elena and pulling her back. It was hard, as she was strong and he hadn't fed in a while, but he was older. Damon pulled her, pining her against the wall as she struggled, wanting to get to Meredith. "Elena! Elena, look at me, focus! It's Meredith. You're going to hurt her. You're going to kill her! Think about what you're doing. Snap out of it, Elena!" He grabbed her face, forcing her to look at him, but the blood lust was still within her. Meredith was gasping on the floor, but soon got to her feet, hand on her neck, face pale white. "Run! Get out of here. Don't let anybody come up here, okay? Run!" Damon shouted, yelling the last word faster. It didn't take her long, and soon Meredith was running, out of the corridor. Thankfully, this part of the hospital was empty - it was late at night.
Blood. Warm, fresh, sweet, rich and intoxicating. That's all Elena could think about. Plunging her teeth deeper into Meredith's neck she groaned in satisfaction, the sweet liquid running down her throat. Suddenly, she was pulled away. Like a wolf being pulled away from its first meal in days, she snarled and turned to face whoever held her in their grasp. Seeing it was Damon she cocked her head to the side. "Let. Me. Go." she growled. All he did was try reasoning with her, telling her that she was going to kill Meredith. Her eyes fell on Meredith the whole time she pressed her hand to her neck, the blood dripping onto the floor. Drip, Drop. And then, Meredith running down the hall towards the exit sign and leaving.
Wiggling out of Damon's grasp she sent him a glare. "Why...would you do that?" she hissed. Her eyes locked on his, her eyes fading back to their normal brown, whilst her fans retracted back under her canines. "Why, Damon?" she asked, not bothering to attempt to wipe the blood off of her mouth and chin. "I thought you were going to help me. That was what I needed, she was what I needed. And for about five seconds, I had it. Real blood." she said. "Not blood from a bag. Stefan...he had told me at one point, that fresh blood helps the transition go quicker." she said, narrowing her eyes at him. "Is that true?"
"No," Damon replied in a similar, loud, forceful tone. He knew what it was like, to need the blood and nothing else. To only be focused on having the best thing in the world. In that moment, nothing else matters, only having the delicious liquid, which makes you want more and more no matter how much you feed. That is what the first time you feed felt like. And to have it taken from you wouldn't be good. He knew that. But what choice did he have? She'd have killed Meredith. There is no control at that stage, not when you were that young, that hungry for only one thing; blood, blood, and more blood. "I will not let you go. Not until you get control of yourself. Got it?"
When she finally turned back to normal Elena, Damon let her wiggle out, watching her, sighing at her words. "I did it because you would have killed her, Elena. Just like Stefan killed our Father when he turned. Just like I killed the girl that he made me drink from. The first time you feed, if nobody stops you, you can't make yourself finish feeding until it is too late. It's Meredith, Elena. I had no choice." He took a step forward, closing in on her. Hesitantly, he reached out, taking her hand in his. "And also, because...I love you. I couldn't let you kill her. Human Elena would never do that. It's Meredith. You'd have been horrified. You might have been turned, but you are still in there somewhere. You just have to find it. Find your humanity. I know it's there. You just need to adjust." The vampire smiled slightly, reaching up to gently brush his fingers across her cheek. "You're still Elena...just a little more badass."
At her question about the blood, Damon hesitated for a moment, before sighing. "It is. And you will feed from a human, soon. I will take you. You can pick one out. Feed a little. Then I will teach you about compulsion. But first, you have to promise, that you will stop when I tell you to. Human Elena hated me when I killed anyone from feeding. I won't let you just kill them. Take what you need, and compel them. The likelihood is, you're already fully turned. Not much is needed to complete the transition."
Elena let a small sigh escape her lips, Damon did have a point though. Human Elena would have been mortified, she never would hurt someone. Though this Elena, she was different, and she felt as if he didn't understand that. "No." she said firmly, catching his attention suddenly. "No, that Elena's gone, Damon." she said, taking a moment to wipe the blood off her chin and mouth. "The Elena that you knew? She was human. She breathed, she had a heartbeat. A pulse. She was alive." she said, biting back the tears that threatened to spill over her cheeks. "She's gone, Damon. She's nowhere in sight. As much as you try to convince yourself that somewhere deep down, she's still there, that's where you're wrong. She's gone and she's not coming back." she sighed and crossed her arms over her chest.
Glancing around the hospital she noticed that the corridor they were in had grown eerily silent. She gnawed at her lower lip for a few moments, before she examined her nails, anything to keep her eyes off of him. Something clicked, then. A memory, it was faint, and coming in bits and pieces, but she could make it out. Just barely. 'Maybe you and I had met first…' Her exact words from earlier, ringing in her mind. Something was telling her that she had, that she had met him first. "It was you..." she said suddenly, looking up at him. "That night...at the party. You were the guy on the road, and then my parents came and got me…" she suddenly became angered. "You made me forget. You made me forget, Damon." she shouted. "Why? Why would you do that!" she growled, now inches in front of him.
Damon didn't agree. He wanted to argue with her, tell her that even if she wasn't alive anymore, her humanity was in here, just that she needed to wait for a while, and then to find it again. It was half true - she wasn't human Elena, but she would eventually get back at least some of her humanity. But the vampire himself knew what it was like, to be in this state of mind. Newly turned, believing you would never get even a shadow of your former self back. There would be no reasoning with her, especially not with all those emotions going into overdrive, with everything confusing and new. He couldn't really blame her. "Maybe so. It doesn't change how I feel for you, you know. You might not be human Elena, or alive. You don't have a heartbeat. But nothing will change how I feel. And everyone else won't feel differently, either. Your friends. Jeremy. Stefan - though I can't really speak for him, but I assume it will be the same. You're lucky in a way, in that, unlike most, you can keep some of your human roots, because everyone who matters knows about what we are. About what you are. It isn't all lost," Damon said, wiping away one of her tears gently.
At her words, Damon frowned, not understanding for a while. As soon as it clicked though, he prepared himself, not knowing how she would react. And as it was, she didn't take it well. "Why do you think?" he asked, shaking his head. "When I first met you, I was only here for Katherine. I thought you were her, and then we started to talk. I had no idea who you were. I didn't even know you. I compelled you to start with, simply because if you mentioned to anybody, and it somehow got back to Stefan, or anyone really, my plans with Katherine wouldn't have worked. And why I didn't tell you after, when I got to know you, when I fell in love with you? So you could be happy. You were so set on being with Stefan because you and he had met first. If I told you, it would only confuse things more. All I ever wanted was for you to be happy. I can understand why you are angry, and I wanted to tell you, so much. But I couldn't. I just wanted you to be happy. I still do."
"You wanted me to be happy?" Elena asked with an arched brow, as she leaned back against the wall. "Someone that wants me to be happy, shouldn't have made me forget something like that." she retorted icily. "And Stefan? I bet you anything, he never would've known. Back then, before the accident? I still kept to myself, and I guess it got worse afterwards." she frowned, her eyebrows scrunching together in frustration. "The thing is, Damon...now that I remember that? I remember everything." she said, watching him. Her eyes raked over his body for a moment, finally landing on his eyes. "I remember, what a monster you were. How you fed on people just for the hell of it, and tossing them off to the side when you were done. When they were of no more use to you." she saw the look on his face, and took a step closer.
"I also remember how sweet you were, are," she said, her finger gently caressing his cheek. " You're not as bad as everyone makes you out to be. We all have good, and bad in us." she sighed, her lips forming in a tight line. "Even I do. It's just going to take a while accepting it. Accepting everything, who I am, what I am." she looked back up at him. "I also remember the first time, you told me you loved me." her eyes bore into his. "And you have no idea how...badly I wanted to say it back, how badly I just wanted to kiss you. But I didn't. Why? I was loyal to Stefan at the time, I couldn't hurt him like that." she finished. The silence between them grew and she spoke again, " I understand what you did, why you made me forget. I'm not happy with it, but I'll get over it." she inched her head a bit closer. "Close your eyes," she instructed carefully. Once he did, she leaned forward a bit more, her lips gently touching his in a sweet, chaste kiss.
"All I have ever wanted for you was happiness. I mean that, Elena. Even back then. I told you I wanted you to get everything you were looking for, remember? Passion. Adventure. Even a little danger. How ironic." Damon sighed, hating the way this was going. "Stefan came here, for you. When I saw you...it brought everything back. And it wasn't just you looking like Katherine that drew me in. I liked you, for who you were. But still, I didn't know you. Had no idea of the real you. I was still set on Katherine, until I found out the truth. But you...you made it better. As I got to know you, I realized there could be someone else. Someone else who truly understood me. Of course, like with Katherine, Stefan got there first." When she spoke about remembering everything else, the vampire raised his head a little. She remembered, everything. So that meant... That night. Telling her he loved her. She remembered. It was the faintest, smallest glimmer of hope. Hope that she wouldn't always hate him. That all was not lost. But then, the mention of him being a monster knocked it all down.
Damon had been about to speak, to try to come up with even the feeblest of excuses, when she stepped forward, speaking again. The touch to his cheek had a shiver jolting down his spine, one of only pleasure. Just her, close to him, even in small intimacy like that, was enough to send his senses haywire. It was where he felt most at home, the closest someone like he could ever get. When she mentioned that night, he glanced at her uncertainly, unsure how she would take it. But then her words changed it all; changed everything. She'd wanted to kiss him back. To say she loved him too. Did she, then? None of this 'caring' about him rubbish? She loved him? It didn't even seem like a possibility...but maybe it was. "I didn't want you to forget it. Any of it. Meeting me first. Telling you I loved you...especially not that. I just..." He trailed off, as she continued to talk. Hearing her say she understood why he acted that way meant everything. The vampire willingly closed his eyes, knowing that in that moment, he'd do anything she asked. When her lips met his, Damon kissed her back. Something in the back of his mind shouted how wrong it was, when she'd just turned, but he didn't stop. It just /felt/ right. It was.
Amidst it all, the kiss somehow turned into a much different one, deeper and certainly not just a gentle brush of their lips against one another. Although it wasn't as full on as the one in Denver - oh, how he wished Jeremy hadn't walked in! - it was just as full of feeling. Damon's arm wrapped around her waist naturally, one hand rested on her cheek. They were engrossed; too engrossed, even, to notice a certain somebody having walked up on them.
"Damon, what - E-Elena?" The horrified and confused voice was unmistakable; Stefan had returned at last.
