Chapter 2: Memories and Phonecalls

Damon remained silent following Caroline's question, thinking that she would get uncomfortable and drop the subject. Caroline seemed to realize this was what he was doing and waited him out. Damon's eyes fluttered shut as he remembered yesterday in all its entirety, and with crystal clear vision.

"Come on, Damon. Talk to me. Start from the beginning too. Elena may be my best friend, but I don't know all the details. I hadn't even met this Elijah guy until last night; I was just as shocked as you to find out she was marrying him, and she told by text early hours this morning! You would think you would get your best friends approval before you get hitched!"

Damon glared at her, knowing she didn't intend to be deliberately insensitive but she still managed anyway. Caroline winced at his facial expression. "I'm sorry. Please, just start from the beginning. Maybe I can help if I know all the facts."

Damon sighed, doubting it sincerely, but he took pity on her and tried to start from the beginning, or at least the beginning of Elena and Elijah. Esther Mikaelson, a famous English author known to both the U.K and the U.S, and the mother of Elijah Mikaelson had been hosting a gala in the heart of New York City.

Elena was to be introduced to Esther for the first time, hoping to impress her boyfriend's mother. It was rumored that Esther was a hard woman to please and rather frosty in her demeanor, giving only warm and kindness to people she truly enjoyed being around. Elijah was her only son, and so any woman on his arm had to be the perfect woman.

Esther didn't think that applied to Elena, whom Elijah had met in London the summer after she had broken up with Damon, or so she told him. She was on an editorial practice and met Elijah in a small coffee shop, where he charmed her with his accent, his looks and his gentlemen ways.

When they parted, he promised he would look her up in New York, should he have the chance to visit the country. After merely two weeks, he made good on that promise, and they had been together ever since. Like a typical guy, Damon didn't realize how good he had it until he lost it, and did something stupid to prove it.

When he learned that Elena was seeing someone else, he made it his mission to get her back but took it further last night. With bourbon as his courage and a smirk as his entry, he crashed the party and made it clear to everyone in the room that Elena was the love of his life. He and Elijah got into a scuffle and Caroline left the party to avoid both him and Elena.

In the course of one Friday evening, he had managed to proclaim his love and embarrass Elena. All while his company was going down the toilet, his reputation was falling apart and his best friend had chosen a woman over him. Elena's name had been shamed in front of a room of important people, and even more importantly: Mrs. Mikaelson.

Damon had been removed by security after his fight with Elijah and chucked into a cab with the instructions to get him home. He thought that would have been the end of his night, and after wallowing on his doorstep for nearly an hour, he made his way inside and decided to get wasted.

"I didn't expect her to come over," Damon said aloud, his eyes unfocused as he lost himself in the memory of last night.

Damon heard her walk into his apartment despite being three-quarters of the way through his bottle of bourbon. He always did recognize her steps, and no one else would walk into his apartment without knocking except for Caroline but she was in a mood with him. He turned on his barstool, twirling his glass with his finger and looked over at her.

Elena was beautiful, despite the fact that she must have gone home first and changed. Instead of her beautiful ball gown, she was dressed in jeans, converse, and a leather jacket. The makeup had been removed from her face and her elaborate hairstyle had been unraveled, leaving damp curls that clung to the leather of her jacket.

"You came," Damon said hoarsely, his throat sore from the harsh liquor.

Elena stalked closer, her eyes blazing with anger. "How could you do that to me, Damon? How could you!?"

"Sorry, I ruined your shot at having a white picket fence life in England," Damon hissed, leaning over his glass to glare into her eyes. "But let's face it, Elena! You were never going to go through with it! We both know how much you love New York."

"Damon," she growled his name like a warning.

Damon stood from his bar stool and stumbled towards her until he was stood in front of her. His vision was blurring to the point he was seeing two Elena's, but then they molded into one, leaving his Elena staring at him with disappointment. "I need you, Elena," he whispered brokenly.

It was an honest thing to say, and he wasn't always honest but this was easy because he meant it with all his heart. "I need you more than I ever have. There's so much happening… so much going on, my father… everything I thought I wanted to be… what I needed to be, to please him… lies, all lies!"

Elena frowned, clearly worried about his slurs and disjointed words. He pushed on, not wanting her to try and get him to bed and blame his outburst on the alcohol. "The only thing that has ever been real is you and me, Elena. But you know that. That's why you've come back."

Damon stumbled forward and Elena automatically gripped his shoulders to steady him. His hands settled on her hips and his face fell into the curve between her shoulder and neck. Damon took a deep breath, inhaling her scent before his lips curved over her bare skin, pressing soft kisses. The kisses always made her come back.

"Elijah asked me to marry him," Elena whispered.

Damon froze and stood up straight, trying to pull his senses together. "You can't marry anyone else! You are mine, Elena!"

Didn't she understand? They were made for each other.

"I wanted to…but not anymore…" Elena whispered, staring into his eyes.

"You're lying," Damon shouted, pushing away from her. "You came back to me. I bet he doesn't even know you're here, does he?!"

Elena looked down, ashamed and Damon felt his heart shatter as the truth passed over her face. She hadn't come back to him. She had come back to say goodbye to him, and start a new life with another man. Damon gripped his head in his hands before he gripped Elena by the arms, stumbling so he shoved her into the wall.

"No!" Elena gasped, her curls flying across her shoulders.

Damon pressed against her, trying to regain her love by pressing clumsy kisses to her neck, face, cheeks and lips. "Please, Elena, please!"

"Damon, no! No! Damon, stop!"

Damon gripped her face in his hands, staring at the tears staining her skin. Elena stared back at him with a quivering lower lip and wet lashes. "It's over."

Damon screamed with rage, pushing away from her so that Elena stumbled against the wall and into the table next to her. Her body fell into the wood, taking it to the floor and smashing it to pieces. Damon gasped and dove to catch her, destroying the skin of his hands on the smashed picture frame as he struggled to pick her up.

As Damon looked down at Elena sobbing, lying in the smashed remains of the table and photo frame, he could see in her eyes that he had gone too far. She wasn't coming back. It's over, he thought to himself. Guilt swelled hot in his gut at the small cut appearing on her skin, birthing droplets of blood that stained her olive complexion. Elena got up and ran as fast as she could.

He always did recognize her footsteps.

"Damon," Caroline murmured, bringing him back to the present.

She had released his hand now that she had patched it up. He glanced at the bandages in surprise, feeling the burn of antiseptic beneath them. He refused to look at her, scared to see the horror and judgment in her blue eyes. The room was silent, and Damon nearly laughed at the fact that he had finally made Caroline Forbes speechless.

He did feel slightly sorry for her. She may have been Elena's best friend, but she was also his friend, by some miracle and loved them both. She tended to get stuck in the middle, with Elena most recently deeming her a traitor last night for questioning her relationship and impending marriage to Elijah. That was why she had left the party.

"So now you know, I ruined her and us like everyone always thought I would," he bitterly announced. "Elena doesn't love me anymore. How could she?"

"Damon, a fight doesn't change the fact that she loves-"

"You don't get it, do you?" Damon snapped, standing from his seat. Caroline jumped at the sudden motion. "I hurt her, physically hurt her. Embarrassed her."

"It was an accident, Damon. Elena will realize that!" Caroline defended him, enraging him further.

"Stop making excuses for me! I've done terrible things, hurt a lot of people but this is the worst thing… the worst thing I've ever done."

I'm my father's son.

He didn't say it, but he knew Caroline would know he was thinking it. She changed the topic, clearly realizing she was out of her depth. "Where's Alaric?"

Damon pulled a face, betrayal twisting his gut. "Gone. Isobel gave him an ultimatum and he chose."

"Why would he do that? He's your best friend!" Damon smirked bitterly at her rage.

When he glanced back at her, she was retrieving her phone from her bag. She pressed it gently into his bandaged palm. "I have a phone, thanks," he quipped.

Caroline rolled her eyes. "Call Elena, she'll answer to me."

"Are you out of your mind?" Damon snapped.

"Shut up and listen. You would never hurt her on purpose, and she knows that! So, you call her, and you tell her you to want to see her. We'll fix this. All those times she fought for you, Damon, do it for her!"

Damon shoved the phone back at her. "It's not like before, Caroline. She won't ever forgive me. I can't even forgive me!"

"You can't know that until you try, Damon! You'll regret it for the rest of your life if you let her marry the wrong man." Caroline hit him hard with the phone in his chest, her mouth twisted in anger.

"What's got into you, Blondie? You're usually fighting for Elena, not me."

"Well, you need my help this time. Not Elena."

Damon thought back to when he first met Caroline. He, Elena, Caroline, Alaric and Jeremy, Elena's younger brother had met in school and were inseparable since. Of course, he and Alaric banded together like Elena and Caroline, and Jeremy always looked after the older men, wanting to be part of their immediate group.

Their parents had moved in the same circles, attending the same events and the five always ended up together, encouraged by their parents. Alaric and Damon had been two years older than the girls, and four years older than Jeremy but their dysfunctional friendship had worked, and they learned to love each other.

They got into trouble and mischief all the time, which didn't bode well with their parents and if it involved the boys and not the girls, Elena would have something to say about the bad influence they were to her younger brother but in the end, their love for one another kept their friendship together.

Damon's relationship wasn't ideal with his father and despite rarely hanging around together alone, whenever Damon got into a fight with his father, he found himself at Elena's door and seeking her company. Shortly after that Elena lost her parents to a crash she and Jeremy survived, and Damon became her rock like she was his.

After Damon's father died, Elena had been there for him in the same way. It didn't take long to realize their friendship had developed into love. There was bliss for a short period where they were head over heels for each other, but once again Damon's father put a stop to his happiness, ruining his life from the grave.

The will was read out, Damon was 'gifted' the company and all its dark secrets. They spent less time together, argued more, broke up more than they got back together and finally, broke up when they couldn't stand each other any longer. He lost his father, the love of his life and his youth all in one fell swoop.

Caroline pulled him from his thoughts once again, still talking. He tried to tune into what she was saying. "I know you love her, Damon, and you two are meant to be. Besides, we're sort of the same, you and I… we both have some things we're ashamed of. We push people away because of that, people we love. I don't want that to happen to you and Elena."

Damon stared at her for a moment before he took the phone back and dialed the love of his life. The woman he constantly hurt. He listened to the ringing for an age before Elena's voice came across the line, harsher than usual. "Caroline, what do you want? I don't think I'm ready to speak to you yet."

"Elena," Damon whispered into the phone.

Elena took a deep breath on the other end of the line, and Damon's eyes fluttered as he listened to the relaxed sound. "You're sober then," she answered, breaking them from the moment.

Damon grimaced, he deserved that. "I'm sorry, Elena."

"Don't," Elena snapped.

Damon's temper flared in irritation. She was always so stubborn. "Elena," he started again, glancing at Caroline for support who gave him an encouraging smile. "I am sorry, Elena. I love you."

"Don't even try. Can we talk about this another time? Or never? I'm busy, and I don't have the energy to listen to your pathetic attempts at an apology. Try again later, and use your own phone instead of using tricks to get me to talk to you. Coward."

Damon sighed as the line went dead and handed the phone back to Caroline, his stomach tightening with the dread that settled there. Caroline's face was twisted into a pained smile and Damon tried to take pity on her by smirking and looking less than bothered. "Thanks, blondie, but I'd love to be alone. Can you see yourself out?"

Caroline nodded, gathering her purse and lacking her usual banter. "Course. I'll stop by again tomorrow after work. She'll come to her senses, Damon. You're her one true love, I just know it. She always said she had found her knight in shining armor in you." Her tone was encouraging, and so was the way she patted his back but her face didn't follow her words.

"Sure, Caroline," he replied.

She smiled once more and turned to leave, shutting the door quietly behind her with a sad smile in his direction. Rubbing his weary face, he decided to get in the shower and wash away his grime and misery. Caroline wasn't wrong, and so neither was Elena: he was her knight, her dark knight that ruined her life.

Elena was still pissed on Saturday morning, a week after Damon's phone call. "I'm sorry. I love you." The audacity of him! How dare he call her after everything he had done? And when her fiancé was meeting her aunt for the first time too. Elena glanced at Elijah from the corner of her eye, thinking about the phone call that took place at Jenna's house.

Elena had been watching Elijah help Jenna with the cooking while Jeremy looked on from the table, trying to hide his amusement. Elijah had looked up from throwing flour in Jenna's face and gave Elena a beaming smile, and she couldn't fight the returning one that crossed her lips. Easy as breathing.

Her phone buzzed in her pocket, and she removed it to see 'Caroline' on the screen. She answered the phone with a sarcastic greeting poised on her tongue, only to be sidetracked by the sound of Damon greeting her by name. Even in their roughest patches, and darkest hours, his voice was still capable of getting her attention.

Despite how cruel and dismissive she tried to be in order to pay him back for the hurt he had caused her, his voice managed to make her chest tighten in pain. Elena tried to gather anger by stroking the cut on her face, and reminding herself of the destruction that Damon was to her life, and how destructive they were together.

It scared her that she couldn't.

Elijah pulled Elena from her memory by pulling her tighter into his chest. Elena focused her eyes back on the film they were watching, and tried to assess how she felt being with Elijah. It surprised her to realize she did feel happy with him. Elijah was a gentleman, a prince, and he treated Elena like a princess.

The only problem being there was a secret part of Elena that did crave darkness, and wild, reckless fun. Elijah was courteous and polite, but sometimes all Elena wanted was someone fun, and out of control… someone like Damon. He was such an enigma, and being allowed into his life was such a privilege that she was excited about it.

His voice had always enticed her, and when she had heard him the other day, he sounded so desperate without her, pleading and almost… pathetic and behind that, always the same silky, smoky, sexy voice that made her want him. Damon was desperate, which was something he wasn't regularly and that made Elena curious.

Elena debated it, glancing at Elijah every couple of seconds and wondering if she should do what she was planning. Finally, she excused herself from Elijah's arms, pecked him on the cheek and walked out of the living room, and again, the same thought passed through her mind: easy, and as simple as breathing.

Feeling guilty as she took out her phone, she searched for Damon's contact number in her list and hovered her thumb over the call button. Before she could change her mind, she pressed call and put the phone to her ear. It rang for a few moments too long, pushing her to hover her thumb over the end button before the call suddenly connected.

"Elena," Damon greeted in his business voice, lacking his usual sensual flirtation which Elena had to admit to herself, was disappointing.

"Damon," Elena responded quickly, hoping to sound all business and no pleasure. "I'm surprised you're awake."

"Elena," he repeated her name as if telling her off.

Elena sighed. "Don't delay. You called, what did you want?"

"I didn't want to call, but Blondie insisted and I did want to make sure you were okay. I just wanted to apologize for… everything. I just wanted to talk, really."

"Good, so talk, I'm listening. Hurry, though, Elijah's waiting for me in the living room."

Damon's voice turned icy, full of anger and jealousy. "He's there?"

His voice reminded her of the four words he had said in the same tone: you are mine, Elena! Elena shook her head to the memory and quickly replied. "We're engaged, of course, he's here."

Damon took a deep breath that transformed into her name. "Elena." His tongue extended the 'e' and she felt her heart flutter. She had always loved that, and he knew it was something Elijah had never perfected in their relationship.

"Would you get to the point, please?" Elena snapped, trying to calm her racing heart.

"Why call me if you're so busy, Elena?" Damon snapped back.

Elena's eyes fluttered closed because her mouth had opened and she couldn't think of a single reason, other than the fact that she wanted to hear his voice. "I don't know… I just… wanted to know what you wanted to say."

Damon's silence hung heavy on the line before he cleared his throat. "I wanted to meet up, talk to you and give you something."

"Please tell me you're joking," Elena answered sarcastically, although her stomach flipped with excitement.

"I love you," Damon whispered quietly, throwing her completely off guard.

"You love me?" She repeated doubtfully. It wasn't like he hadn't told her before, and she'd returned the sentiment but she never heard it as regularly as he'd said it to her recently.

"Of course I do, Elena! I always will," he declared firmly.

Elena's veins ran hot and cold with anger and guilt. "You don't humiliate and frighten those you love, Damon."

Damon took in a sharp breath and let it out long and low so that it whistled over the line. "I'm so sorry, Elena."

"When and where?" Elena asked quickly, unsure why she was allowing this to happen but knowing she couldn't deny the excitement in her stomach.

"Central park in an hour?"

Elena chewed her lower lip. She was at cross roads, where she could walk into the living room to her fiancé, her prince and smile, laugh and be as easy as breathing. Her other choice was to go to her room and get ready to meet her dark knight, and possibly cause havoc to every good part of her life. She had to make a choice: her prince, or her dark knight?

"I'll be there."

Well, interesting things will come!

The next chapters will be up before the weekend ends, I promise!

Tell me what you think :))