Wow, what a turnout for the first chapter! I was a little iffy about this story, but thank you guys so much for all the kind reviews!
Here's chapter 2—it will be the first Delena interaction. The words just seem to flow out of me whenever I write good scenes with them.
I'll be updating Safe until Then and Memories of Damon next. I'm trying to wait and see the 1912 episode next week before I continue Memories of Damon to get a better idea of what Damon was like back then.
Once again, thank you very much and review, review, review!
Chapter 2—Friendly Gestures
"Checks"
Elena was woken up yet again the third time that afternoon. It seemed the nurses on staff were supposed to check rooms every two hours and it was starting to annoy her. Ever since her arrival yesterday, she had decided to give her lumpy bed a whirl. And she had no intention of leaving it any time soon.
Shannon turned out to be a nice roommate. They introduced themselves and that was it. She was polite and quiet, just what Elena wanted then.
Before she could fall back asleep, she was woken up rudely by the feeling of someone shaking her shoulder. Flittering her eyes open, she was met with hazel eyes staring down at her.
"Hello Elena. My name is Lexi; I'm one of the nurses here. How are you feeling today?" Lexi smiled at her, her blonde hair falling down her back in a ponytail. Her purple nurse uniform stood out brightly from her olive complexion. She sure was a better sight than all the other nurses in plain uniforms and just plain moody expressions.
"I'm Elena, it's nice to meet you," Elena replied before yawning. 'Not really in the mood for conversation right now,' she thought to herself.
"Nice to meet you too. I know that you're new here and I know how scared and lonely you must be. But don't worry, it will get better soon, I promise. Right now though, something that will probably help you is getting some food in your stomach," Lexi smiled encouragingly.
Elena groaned inwardly. She just wanted to stay in bed, was that too much to ask from anybody?
"I don't mean to be rude Lexi, but I really don't feel like eating."
"You sure? We have good food, I promise you. It's not like other hospital food that tastes better as you throw it up, I promise," she laughed lightly.
That did make Elena smile a bit. The truth was that she didn't want to eat because she was nervous about her first psychiatrist appointment tomorrow afternoon. She would be forced to talk about her issues. Problem was that even she didn't know what those were anymore.
"Well, sorry, you don't have a choice. We can be friends or the worst of enemies, just FYI. I'm asking you nicely to please go down to the cafeteria to get some food. I'll follow you down there and watch you eat if I have to, kapeesh?" Lexi smirked at her.
Elena's mouth opened to protest but immediately shut it back up. What was the point in arguing? Lexi looked like she meant business and protesting would only end her in a world of trouble she wanted to avoid at all costs.
"Ok, ok fine. I'll go," she relented, getting up and putting on one of her sweat jackets. Pretty soon, she left her room with Lexi following her.
"I know it's going to be difficult to adjust, but I promise it gets better. We'll have you feeling better in no time and you'll be home again. Just think of this as a vacation, maybe that will help the time fly by. What do you say?" Lexi continued in a sweet voice as they walked down the hall.
"Yeah I guess…" Elena answered, staring down at her feet.
"You just wait and see—you'll make plenty of friends here. I guarantee it. Well, I'll let you go and eat in peace now. See you later for checks and escorts to your appointments," Lexi hugged her lightly then headed down another direction to another hallway.
Elena walked numbly down the rest of the hallway to the cafeteria. She hadn't been eating much over the last few months even before everything happened. She didn't realize it, but her weight problem was beginning to get serious. People could see the bones sticking out of her shoulders if that was even possible.
Entering the cafeteria, she found it to be crowded since it was dinnertime. Sighing, she went to the back of the line and waited for her turn. Once she walked up to the buffet they seemed to have, she grabbed a tray and started looking at the different options they had. Settling for a green apple, she picked it up and-
"I wouldn't eat that if I were you."
The voice stopped Elena dead in her tracks. Her hand seemed to drop the apple in slow motion at the beautiful sound of the velvet voice right behind her. She was too stunned to speak and she had a good idea who the velvet voice belonged to.
"I'm sorry, what did you say?"
"I'm just saying that the apples here suck; I've heard of people getting food poisoning from them. I'm sorry if I caused you any distress."
"No, you didn't. You just…scared me is all," was all Elena could say. She still hadn't turned around. She was afraid of what she would see. Or what he would see in her.
"I may be old-fashioned, but I prefer to talk to people face to face, so could you please turn around and face me?" she heard his voice lighten up a bit with laughter.
She could feel her heartbeat soar in her chest and her breath quicken as she slowly turned around and was met with the glance of a chest; a hard chest in a black shirt, muscles on display. Her head slowly looked upwards and was met with the same blue eyes she had seen yesterday. Only this time they were mere inches from her and were gazing at her like two bright, clear sapphires. And they were beautiful…as was the rest of his face. His black hair was shining in the light, his gorgeous face was almost too beautiful to be real…
"Thank you…for telling me," Elena was able to squeak out before reaching down to grab the apple. But he did just that as they both bent down, their foreheads smacked against each other. Leaning back, both of them rubbed their heads before laughing at each other.
"Sorry about that, I'm a total klutz! My name is Damon. And what is your name, beautiful?" he smiled back at her, rubbing his head.
At that, Elena actually smiled. A true, genuine smile. Something she hadn't done in months. Not since everything happened….
"I'm Elena."
"Elena…" he smiled at her. "It means light."
"Sorry, what?" she asked as he stood up and offered her his hand to help her up from the floor.
"Your name means light—that's what it means. I'm sorry if I surprised you with my rude behavior. You're new here, aren't you? I've never seen you before today," he asked her as they continued down the line picking up different food items.
"You didn't, I was just surprised. It was the first time a nurse hasn't spoken to me or ordered me to go somewhere or perform a Check, whatever the hell that means," she explained, trying not to think about how gorgeous he was. There was no way he was mentally instable!
"They perform checks to make sure everyone is here and accounted for. The only time they don't do it is after ten at night when everyone is supposed to be in bed," he explained, grabbing a tray and filling it with fruit (not apples), a cup of soup, and a carton of milk.
"Ah well, that explains it," she smiled sadly. This felt more like a prion than anything else and now it was worse.
"It's really not so bad; you get used to it after awhile. But I understand your nervousness," he replied, his eyes taking on a sad view, looking down almost in an ashamed way. When he looked up, he was back to his cheery self.
"How about I introduce you to someone? I promise, he's really cool. It will be good for you to meet some of the other people here."
Nodding, she smiled warmly at him. "Sure."
After their trays were full (Elena's only half full, but it was better than nothing), Damon led them to a corner of the cafeteria. There was a group of men sitting down, one standing up and doing some sort or dance or improv from what she could deduce. She wasn't totally sure…
"Klaus! Come over here and meet someone." Damon spoke loudly.
The blond-haired man whirled around and smiled at Damon.
"Ah Damon, it's about time mate. And oh my goodness, who do we have here?" Klaus smirked at Elena, making her feel a little self-conscious.
"Who is this charming young thing, Damon? My god, her blood appeals to you so much, no?" Klaus smiled, taking on a Count Dracula accent. He took her hand in his, bringing it up to his lips and kissing it.
Elena was at a loss for words. For people in a mental hospital, they sure were cheerful.
"Good God, you're not Dracula Klaus," Damon rolled his eyes. "This is Elena. Elena, this is my roommate Klaus," Damon gestured to the man in front of them. He had short, blonde hair, light green eyes and a slim frame.
He smiled warmly at her. "It's a pleasure meeting you, Elena.
"Likewise," she said.
"Okay now, Elena and I are going to eat in peace somewhere else. See you back in the room Klaus," Damon said before putting a hand on Elena's lower back and steering her away. Elena could do nothing but follow his lead. Not that she was complaining about his touch. It actually felt good.
The two of them found a table for two. Sitting down on opposite sides, Elena seemed to find her appetite again as she immediately dug in.
"Sorry about my roommate Klaus. He's an acclaimed 'actor' as he puts it," Damon explained, putting quotation marks in the air with his fingers.
"No trouble at all. If you don't mind me asking, what's he doing here in this place? He seems so-"
"Cheery? I know, it's annoying. As far as I know, he's here because he's a sex addict. It's really strange, not to mention gross, when I wake up in the middle of the night to hear him jacking off. He hasn't tried anything on me yet. At least not that I know of," he smirked at her, his eyes widening with a devil smirk.
For the first time in a long time, Elena genuinely smiled. Actually smiled. And it felt so good.
Damon smiled back at her. His blue eyes contrasted drastically with his dark t-shirt and jean. "So Elena, where are you from? Around here?"
Elena smiled back. She couldn't help it, she was totally drawn to him.
"Mystic Falls actually."
"Ah, I know that place. It's not that far from here. I'm from somewhere near here as well."
The two continued with their light conversations all through their meal. Damon told her stories about Klaus and the different patients at the hospital. Elena listened and laughed with him at appropriate times. Damon was so—she couldn't describe it. He seemed so fun and full of life, it was insane! She felt like she had literally been living in a fog for years now and it was starting to clear up.
The final dinner bell rang, signaling the closing of the cafeteria for the night. The two of them walked down the hallway still deep in conversation. They stopped outside of Elena's room.
"Soooo…now that we have the pleasantries out of the way, what brings you here? You look pretty healthy to me Miss Gilbert." His voice took on a serious tone.
Elena stopped dead in her tracks. For the first time, she forgot her pain and the reason she was here. Damon made her forget the bad in her life for the first time in a long time. And now…this.
She turned to look at Damon's eyes that were looking at her with a mixture of curiosity and…his own pain somehow mirrored her own. It was that moment that she knew nothing about Damon himself. But from his eyes, she could catch a glimpse of the pain he so desperately tried to hide himself. They were alike in that way, trying to hide their pain from the rest of the world. The feeling of mutuality scared her.
Before she could ask anything or even reply to his question, her eyes teared up slightly and she ran into her room, sitting on the bed and trying to control her breathing and the tears that threatened to burst open the dam.
She heard footsteps enter the room slowly.
"I know this is totally against the rules of gender in this place. Men and women are not allowed to be in the same room unless it's the entertainment or cafeteria. But I'm breaking it for you; the least you can do is answer me something before a nurse finds me in here," Damon made a slight shuffling noise as he waited patiently in the entryway.
"What exactly do you want me to tell you Damon? We're still strangers in this freaky place and you just expect me to open up my deepest, darkest demons to you? You're crazy!"
Damon's eyes flickered slightly before he sat down next to Elena on her bed. "I may not know much about you Elena Gilbert, but I know you are much too sweet of a girl to be in a place like this. What are you really doing here?" he asked, gently rubbing her cheek with his finger. His blue eyes looked right into her own, hoping for an answer just from gazing into her eyes.
Elena was at a loss for words. Her mind seemed like it was trying to solve a broken puzzle. This man right next to her, a total stranger, was getting under her skin more than any of the doctors had and they probably will never understand.
"I don't know Damon. I just don't know."