author's note ; so i usually update in sets of two so this chapter is coming out fairy quick after the first and then there will probably be a long gap and then chapter's three and four will come out almost back to back. at least, i hope that's how it goes. anyways. #shoutout goes to kris who edits my shit. If you have a tumblr, follow her. but also a shoutout to Ragna01 for her great advice.

disclaimer ; believe me, i fucking wished i owned ian and nina and the vampire diaries.


Take me home to my heart,

let me go and I will run,

I will not be silent;

all this time spent in vain,

wasted years, wasted gain.

All is lost,

hope remains and this war's not over.

Shattered - Trading Yesterday


Two Months Later

The amber liquid slid down his throat, leaving a thick trail of acid that was quick to fade into a pleasurable ache in the vampire's mouth. He suckled the poisonous medicine until the substance had disappeared from his glass entirely. Finally, after the ninth or thirteenth glass, Damon's senses began to dull and the anger he was feeling during that week had finally became the somber depression that Bourbon could drag you into.

Two months had gone by since the night Damon discovered Katherine had a doppelganger. Paranoia and curiosity ate at Damon until he broke into the high school to retrieve her files.

Elena Marie Gilbert, born June 22nd, was entering her junior year of high school. That was the second most surprising thing he'd learned within the last month. When he had met her, she seemed so mature and older and she was…sexy. Of course, she did have an eerie resemblance to Katherine Pierce, who, technically, was sixteen. She lived on 2104 Maple Street with her two parents and younger brother, Jeremy Gilbert. As far as grades were concerned, Elena seemed to excel in academics—a few notes from her teachers suggested she should be moved up a grade.

All in all, Damon had been…impressed by the doe eyed beauty, but he held no interest in veering away from his original plan, no matter how satisfying the possible corruption could have been. He was scarce in public, instead keeping himself hidden in the Salvatore Boarding House and escaping into the woods to feed on the hikers and drunken students that would wander into secluded regions.

But over a month had passed since he'd seen Elena Gilbert and July had come pleasantly quick. As interesting as this run in with the doppelganger was, Damon was still focused primarily on releasing Katherine from the tomb. And in order to do so, he still needed a few items: the crystal and a witch. The crystal he had in a safe place, but finding a witch would be difficult.

Going to Anna seemed like a good idea at the time—oh how wrong he was.

Extending a hand, Damon motioned for the bartender, while his free hand held his empty glass up. When his glass was filled nearly to the brim, Damon smirked coolly at the barkeep, thankful for the extra dose. He'd have to remember the humble man when he became hungry.

In one burning gulp, Damon had removed half of the glass's content. It was then that the people around him began to move slower and everything felt numb. He leaned his forehead on his fingers, the anger that had been swelling inside of him slowly beginning to subside.

That was, until a familiar scent drafted through the room.

Vanilla. Honey. The only difference would be it lacked the scent of cheap beer and burning wood. He didn't want to turn around; he would snap if he turned around, but his unbeaten heart, or what was left of it, obliterated when he heard the bubbly laugh of none other than Elena Gilbert—and suddenly, Anna's voice was in his mind.

I expected you to be with Katherine, not loitering around Mystic Falls.

Of course, Kitty Kat Pierce could deceive just about anyone, and perhaps Damon should have seen it coming, but it hurt like hell to know while he was planning to "save" his true love, she was rendezvousing in the Caribbean. The truth was while Damon had believed he was one step ahead to have all of the vampires placed in the tomb, Katherine had been five steps ahead.

The man let the rest of his drink slide down his throat, tasting like bleach, and, at this point, Damon wished it was. Sure, it wouldn't kill him, but it'd put him out of his misery if for a moment. Begrudgingly, Damon turned to glance over his shoulder at Elena. She stood by the pool table, surrounded by two other females around the same age.

She could be Katherine, oh it was a dangerous possibility. But as he peered closer, he noticed the heat swell in her cheeks. He'd turned for the purpose of glaring at her, to perhaps gain her attention so he could take out all of his frustration on her as if she was Katherine. Instead, he sat, staring almost as if he was in awe, lips parted.

No, she couldn't be used as a replacement for Katherine—she was much too innocent, and Damon loved that about this Elena Gilbert. A distraction was what he needed, and she was perfect.

The anger that had quickly began to rise faded once more, and his bitter expression was replaced by a cool smirk. He waited patiently; thirty minutes had gone by before the two girls who had arrived with Elena—Bonnie and Caroline—excused themselves to go to the restroom, leaving the doe eyed innocent leaning over a pool table.

Strong hand settled on her hips from behind, moving her further down towards the pool table. A gasp slipped out from between soft lips, and when she turned to possibly backhand the man who had the audacity to touch her, she was met with bright cerulean eyes. Familiar and yet she couldn't identify who the raven haired man in front of her was.

That was until he whispered softly to her.

"Your friends should stop leaving you alone so often—what if someone were to take you?" his mouth brushed her ear and his name hit her like a train.

Damon Salvatore's the name.

A sheepish grin came to her lips. Unlike their drunken encounter the two months prior where he was met with a confident woman, he was being exposed to the innocent girl she was. It only seemed to excite the beast inside him.

He was leaning her down across the table once more, his hand extending out mimic the position of her fingers as she positioned her aim. The opposite hand moved from her waist to wrap around her fingers at the base of the cue.

"You have a nice aim, but it's all about the thrust," he purred, hips pressed against hers. He moved the cue between their fingers before thrusting the stick forward, striking the white ball. The vampire smirked as the black eight fell into the pocket.

He immediately stepped back from Elena, moving to sit on the edge of the pool table. He grinned, fawning a pleasant expression. She placed the cue down on the table, both hands running through her hair nervously.

"What are you doing here?" she inquired, laughing gently. The killer only shrugged his shoulders.

"It's the town tavern, doesn't everyone come here to drink?" he arched a brow at her, arms folded across his chest. She only nodded, obviously timid in his presence. More than that, she looked almost submissive in a way, her face tilted towards the ground. Images of her on her knees with her lips around his cock flashed through his mind, and he was forced to bite back a groan.

"I was actually hoping to see you again," he lied, moving off the table to step closer to her. While his intentions were crude, his eyes only perceived pure sincerity. She looked up at him with wide, astonished eyes. She was blushing a dark shade of red, causing him to smirk.

"Why?" she demanded, tucking a wayward strand behind her ear. He only shrugged his shoulders.

"You're very hard to forget and it's become a problem for me—to constantly have you on my mind," he drawled, eyes narrowing almost accusingly, as if she had done something wrong. Her blush only seemed to darken fifty shades, and while it was all so satisfying to fluster the youth, he's not against compelling the confidence out of her.

Fortunately, she was more than willing to reply.

She was pouting—fucking tease—while her eyes expressed heavy amusement. What she internally mocking him? "I'm sorry to have caused you so much trouble, Mr. Salvatore. Perhaps I can make it up to you?" she smirked and her blush faded. Damon's lips twitched, satisfied at her shift in mood. Oh, yes, she would be a perfect distraction.

"Hm," he purred, raising a hand to stroke his lower lip thoughtfully, drawing her attention deliberately to his mouth. "Take a walk with me," he demanded, hand dropping back to his side as he took a step in her direction.

She seems confused. Perhaps she was expecting him to be more forward, but he had plans for her, and such a scheme included them to be alone. Glancing outside, she was no doubt observing that it was dark out—perhaps she was wary of him.

Good.

Or maybe she just needed more coaxing. Reaching forward, his hands moved over her waist while his body shuffled closer, lips coming to her ear.

"C'mon, Elena," he drawled, feeling her tremble as his fingers settled over the sliver of skin exposed beneath them hem of her shirt, "you owe me, remember? It's been a very long two months; I just wanna know you." He was proud of himself—he sounded so convincing, purring into her ear and feeling her skin. When he heard her sigh, he knew he had won, and her response brought a wolfish grin to his lips.

"Okay."


Damon really wasn't a fan of mundane conversation of boring, small town lives and the weather, but the skirt that Elena wore gave him the incentive to take this slow. She hadn't told him anything he hadn't found out himself, which meant he had to make an effort to seem surprised or interested when she mentioned her school or her family.

The only thing that truly caught his attention was when she mentioned she was adopted and voiced her evident disinterest in finding out who her real parents were. There was a long pause as they continued loitering through the park before Elena, to his surprise, broke the silence.

"So what about you?" she inquired, and, of course, he was forced to put even more useless effort into creating a clever façade for himself.

"I was born and raised here but left with my Uncle Zac when I was sixteen after my father died. My mother died when I was very young, a year or so after she gave birth to my brother, who was sent to boarding school. I was homeschooled most of my life until I went off to college. My uncle, however, came back to look after the Salvatore Boarding House," he shrugged, noticing her sympathetic expression. Elena didn't seem like a person who's had to deal with any tragic deaths, and her family records would confirm she hadn't had anyone within her immediate family pass away. Sighing softly, he conveyed faux uncomfortableness and quickly changed the subject. "I've recently been informed rumors have been spread that it's haunted—do you believe them?" the vampire smirked, nudging Elena playfully. She giggled, practically leaning against him for a moment before she shrugged her shoulders.

"It's a big, old house in the middle of the woods. I've never really been inside, but a friend of mine snuck inside and got attacked by some animal. It was a pretty nasty bite," she frowned, glancing down at her shoes, completely oblivious to the smirking beast she was walking with.

Ah, yes—Damon remembered. A scrawny kid, who smelt like he'd been puffing a joint since he woke up, had come into Damon's home rather loudly. He was a nice little snack, and his blood definitely gave Damon a nice buzz.

"That's the dog. I guess I'm sorry he got hurt, but he was trespassing," Damon said pointedly and Elena was laughing once more.

God, she was driving him fucking insane. It was humiliating really, to be so bewitched by someone so ordinary and young. He may have underestimated the abilities of this Elena Gilbert—perhaps she wasn't so ordinary, maybe she was a fucking hellcat that needed to be released from her cage.

So lost in his thoughts on her, he stopped beneath one of the street lamps that highlighted the pathway. His eyes were dark as they bored into Elena who was staring back at him with an innocent expression. He was still, eyes unwavering before he noticed her take a step closer, moving onto her toes to brush her lips against his.

And suddenly, it felt like the bridge all over again—the light, teasing kiss that drove him mad. He couldn't take it anymore. Reaching up, his fingers tangled in her dark hair, mouth consuming hers. He heard her gasp and he took the opportunity to slide his tongue into her mouth. It took a brief minute, but he soon felt her fingers in his hair, tugging sharply as she kissed him back fiercely.

A small growl came from his throat and he moved to push her against the streetlamp, mouth parting from hers to travel down her throat, nibbling on her skin until she was moaning. His feet captured her skin in a gentle bite, a small cry escaping Elena. The smell of blood—her blood—became stronger, and as he glanced down, he noticed he'd left a small love bite on her olive skin. Fangs slid from his gums as he parted from her neck, his breathing becoming heavy.

Slowly, he lifted his face to hers, allowing her to see the monstrous features of a true killer before they faded away. Her mouth parted wide, and she looked like she was about to scream. Reaching up, he cupped her face, eyes boring into hers.

"Hush—everything's alright," he cooed, stroking her cheeks. He waited patiently as her heart decelerated. She glanced over him warily, obviously still frightened by what she had seen. "Everything's going to be alright, Elena, do you know why?" he demanded as he leaned forward, pressing a kiss to the corner of her mouth.

She shook her head and he smirked, a wicked expression crossing his face. He didn't need to compel her—that would be much too easy. Besides, he would enjoy the slow accommodation to the lifestyle he was dragging her into.

"I've decided I'm going to keep you."


author's note ; well that escalated quickly, hm? fair warning, i intend to make the next chapter very smutty. ( funfact: the inspiration for this fic came from rewatching season one and seeing damon and caroline's relationship. ) you should always review because let's be real how could you nOT? xx. king