I awoke slowly, almost afraid to regain consciousness and face the gravity of last night. I had slept in Damon's room. I had slept in Damon's bed. And not only that, he'd been right there next to me and I hadn't even fought him off. Well, not that I could've fought him, obviously, but I could've at least put up a fuss. A much bigger fuss than I did.
Laying in bed right now, I didn't feel his weight next to me or his hands in my hair. This would be the safest time for me to get up and get out of here without having to discuss anything with Damon. Still, I was reluctant. My alarm hadn't gone off yet, and I was tired. I'd be lucky to make it through school without passing out from exhaustion.
"Rise and shine, Elena!" A voice called from right in front of my face.
Instinctually my eyes blinked wide open, letting a mix of blinding light and blinding blue into my mind. Damon was literally inches from my face, his eyes sparkling, infatuatingly close to my own. I drew in a small gasp of surprise. This made Damon chuckle and stand up.
"Women never can keep their eyes off me." He said, stretching in the morning light streaming through the large window in his bedroom.
He wasn't wearing a shirt. His flat chest strongly flexed above his impeccable six pack, leading down to his low-slung pants which looked like they might fall off of his narrow hips at any moment. I almost sighed, but didn't. He was right. What woman wouldn't want to wake up to that in the morning? He must've noticed that I didn't break my gaze from his inhuman body, because he blurred quickly back next to me on the other side of the bed.
"Elena, Elena…what are we going to do with you? What would Stefan say? Here you are, in my room, waking up to me in the morning. And you don't even seem too upset about it."
Why was Damon prodding me? This is his dream, so why is he saying the very things that make me want to sprint out of the boarding house?
He continued to speak from his position lounging next to me. He was propped up on one elbow, smirking slightly. "I don't want you to go to school today."
I didn't know quite how to take his words. I did know that I was most definitely going to school today. I ignored him and got up, walking to the door.
"Elena!" Damon caught my arm in his supernatural grip, refusing to allow me to take one more step away from him.
"Damon! What are you doing? I am going to school, and this means nothing. Last night, you compelled me. You made me sleep in your room against my will, then I wake up and you kissed me! Multiple times!"
"You liked it." Damon muttered under his breath, taken aback by my sudden outburst.
"This isn't about what I like and don't like. This is about you treating me like what I am, your brother's girlfriend. I don't know what you're thinking. Just because he's gone doesn't mean I've changed my mind about which one of you I love. You can't take his place. And for the record, I'm not going to change my mind. Ever." My voice was filled with anger, but by the end of my speech, it was quivering. Damon's face had changed from amusement to rage. And now, I was beginning to regret awakening his ire. My mind told me to run, but my feet were cemented in front of the angry, impulsive vampire.
Then, I was able to break the trance, turning on my heels and quickly sprinting to the door. I slammed into something hard and cool. It felt like a brick wall, but I knew before I looked that it was Damon. I felt his long fingers gripping my shoulders so tightly that it hurt. I whimpered as I recognized the pain he was causing me. This was going to bruise.
I looked up frantically. Damon's face was no longer the picturesque painting of mere minutes before. The beginnings of dark veins pulsated around his blue eyes, which were tinged red. The most terrifying part was that he was smiling grimly, revealing two razor sharp fangs which had extended through his gums. I had never seen him this pissed at such close range. Suddenly, I felt for all the women who Damon had killed. Their last moments must've been absolutely awful.
"Damon! Damon stop it!" I was screaming at the top of my lungs.
Just like that, Damon's face was back to normal, but he was still grinning and crushing my shoulders.
"You're right, Elena. How rude of me." His voice was low and guttural. It did nothing to ease the adrenaline coursing through my veins. I found myself thrust onto the bed in less than a second. Above me, Damon licked his top lip in motion that indicated he wasn't done with me yet. I struggled wildly; my futile efforts did nothing to move him. I stood no chance against his full body weight pressing me down combined with his strength. The muscles of his shoulders and chest flexed impressively.
His face, never losing the horrific grin, morphed back into vampire mode. I screamed again. Damon pretended not to notice.
"For our first time, it's probably better that you're lying down."
What the hell? But before I could say anything, Damon had plunged down to my neck, impaling me with his fangs, drinking from the wound. I was frozen, motionless, silent. The pain had paralyzed me, along with the fear. I was going to die. I could feel the tugging of Damon on my neck, pulling my life into him. After the initial pain of the bite had faded, I was left with a mix of nausea and desperation. He had to stop. My vision became cloudy.
"Damon…" I whimpered, begging him to stop.
To my surprise, he lifted his face from my neck, blood running down his chin in a perfect line, just like in the old horror movies.
"Elena?" He mocked my weak tone. "I knew you would taste delicious, but I have to admit, I wasn't expecting it to be that good." He was talking about my blood. MY blood, like I was a dish to be rated at a five star restaurant. I moaned, feeling like I might pass out.
"Don't go, not yet princess. Stay awake," He peered into my drooping eyes, using his electric blue gaze to pull me back out of the semi-dark vortex into which I was falling. Satisfied, he bent back to my neck. I braced myself to feel again his fangs. Instead, I felt his warm tongue lapping at the wound, stopping the bleeding and soothing me. My body, acting of its own accord, began to heat up. All I could feel was the sensation of his tongue on my skin, caressing. His hand was in my hair again, tugging lightly to expose my neck further to his ministrations. The press of his body against mine was suddenly overwhelming. Everything was too much.
Damon moved upward from my neck, coming into my line of vision. He was the most beautiful killer I'd ever seen. He seemed a dark angel come from Death himself to deliver me. His cobalt eyes had grown in intensity from the feed. His lips seemed soft as ever, though they were tinged red. He briefly brought his hand to his chin, wiping roughly at the red fluid there and sucking it off of his finger. Again I found myself mesmerized and on the verge of falling out of consciousness. Then, he leaned down to my face, crushing his lips hard against my own. He hungrily thrust his tongue into my mouth, exploring voraciously. Electricity ran from his mouth to my own. I was engulfed in the feel of his perfect lips, teeth, tongue. I could taste my blood in his mouth, bitter an metallic. It gagged me. Damon didn't know or didn't care, as he continued to devour my lips. My eyelids fluttered gently, like butterflies trying to stay alive. His hands were stroking down the sides of my face and our legs were a tangle of limbs. I was so weak. I had nothing left to give. Why? Why was he doing this, killing me?
Something sweet and addictive began to flavor my mouth, erasing the flavor of my own blood. I realized Damon must've bitten his lip, allowing me to take in his smooth and powerful elixir. I could practically feel my sanity coming back to me. My mind cleared, and I regained the strength to use my limbs. Damon sat up, smiling down at me dreamily.
"Yes, that was better than I expected too."
Tears ran down my face, from pain, humiliation, and fear.
"What's wrong, sweetness? Still afraid?" Damon's voice was dripping with fake kindness. He was a monster. I saw that now. He was never my friend. Trusting him was like trusting the Devil, and now I was paying the terrible price. Where was Stefan? I sobbed slightly.
"Now, before you get any ideas, lets get rid of this," Damon said sinisterly, darting over to the bedside table and picking up my cell phone.
"No!" I screamed. But it was too late. He had thrown it at the far wall, shattering the phone as well as my hopes of getting a hold of Stefan or Bonnie or Caroline, or anyone who could help me!
Within milliseconds his face was in front of mine, eyes boring into mine. His pupils pulsated, "Stay right here until I get back." Then he disappeared out the bedroom door. I was immobilized by his compulsion, but my mind was not. He had lost his mind, that much was clear. I wished that I could go back and change the events of this morning. Why had I lost my temper? What had made me think that it was a good time to proclaim my eternal love for Stefan?
Damon was back. I inhaled, looking at the vervain necklace that he held in his hand.
"You won't be needing this anymore, either, will you?" He walked to the window and opened it, throwing my necklace outside into the woods surrounding the boarding house. With that, his frenzy of activity grinded to a halt.
He calmly walked over to me and sat down, pulling my unwilling body closer. I was no longer under his compulsion to remain still, so I tried to shove myself further away. This only made his iron grip tighter. It was pointless to struggle. Silence filled the tense air for at least a full minute. Damon looked straight ahead, apparently lost in his thoughts with me pinned to his side. I stared at him wearily, worrying about his next move. I had to focus on staying alive through his psychotic break.
He slowly turned his head towards me, smiling as if nothing had happened. "As I said, I really don't want you to go to school today."
"You are not to leave this house under any circumstances, do you understand?" Damon's voice had softened slightly from the harshness it had carried before. He had visibly calmed down but was showing no signs of rationality beyond that. Without my necklace, I found myself repeating the words he spoke to me in a monotone voice. It wasn't me talking, yet I couldn't stop my lips from moving, and I knew I couldn't leave, even if I made it to the door.
"Good girl. Now, I am going to make some breakfast." He was back to looking like an in-control picture of perfection. He still wasn't wearing his shirt, leaving his pale, flawless skin bare to me. Somehow, I didn't feel disgusted by him. He had almost killed me, and I was not repulsed by his rippling muscles and his onyx hair. However, I was mute. I think I was in shock. I felt numb and tired, like I was on the verge of either falling asleep or bursting out into uncontrollable tears. In line with the latter option, a stray tear slipped down my face. Damon noticed. He leaned in to me, causing me to shiver slightly.
"It's okay, Elena. I'm not going to bite you again….yet." His words came out like velvet, gentle and calm, washing over me with his cool breath. He licked away evidence of my crying, following the path it had taken down my face with tantalizing precision. It was almost as if he was in a trance. Suddenly, he was kissing me. This time the kiss was light, barely a brush of the lips. Its innocence brought blush to my cheeks, despite the fact that there was really nothing innocent about it.
Damon leaned back; I thought I detected a hint of a smug smile on his face. I was angry. Angry beyond all belief. I was betrayed by my own body. He was the specimen of perfection. Even after causing me pain and terror mere minutes earlier, I found myself abandoned by my mind when his lips touched mine. While I stewed, Damon disappeared, presumably to the kitchen.
I went to the bathroom. I felt the need to look in the mirror and examine the damage. Of course, when I looked, I saw my reflection, the same as always except for a tinge of fear and apprehension in my eyes. I'd forgotten that his vampire blood had healed the puncture wounds. The next thing to worry about was escape. Escape and contacting Stefan or my friends. I knew there wasn't a phone in the bathroom, but would Damon have left his in the bedroom?
I went back and checked the drawers of the dresser, the bedside table, and anywhere else that seemed a likely hiding place. I came out empty handed. Hopefully I would have more opportunities to look.
"El-eeenaa! Come down here" Damon called up the stairs in a lilting voice. I figured he knew what I was doing up here. He must've been confident that I wouldn't have any luck.
I had no clothes in this room, and there was no way I was going downstairs in just my skimpy Pjs. I hurriedly went to Stefan's door, hoping beyond hope that it would be unlocked. Of course not. I paced back to Damon's room, frantic for something to slip into. Even more frantic for a way to slip out of here!
"I'm waiting." Damon's voice hinted at impatience. I really didn't think upsetting him was a good idea at this point. My mind flashed pack to his fangs in my neck. Inevitably, this led me to think about the euphoric sensation of him feeding that had followed. Pain had become a sort of surreal tugging that had tethered me to him as well as launching me into a world of confusion.
I yanked open one of the dresser drawers that I had seen shirts in and pulled it on overtop of my cami and shorts. Because it was Damon's it was black and long enough to reach halfway down my thighs. I sighed in resignation and made my way down the stairs.
Even though the last thing I felt like doing was eating, I had to acknowledge that the smell of Damon's cooking was amazing. I followed my nose to the scene of him in the kitchen, sitting at the table expectantly. He wasn't eating, but a plate of waffles sat at my place, immediately to his right.
"Sexy shirt." Damon winked at me sarcastically. It was enough to make me almost believe that things were back to normal, that the joking, bitter, humorous Damon was sitting at the table, waiting for me to eat breakfast. Maybe Stefan was upstairs in the shower…but no.
I sat down without speaking, staring at the plate of food before me. I couldn't bring myself to take a bite.
"You should eat…I wouldn't want to have to force you.": Damon's voice was mildly threatening, but I knew that it could change to full-fledged anger in a second. I picked up my fork, reluctantly stabbing a bite. God, it was delicious. Unfortunately, after just one, I thought I might puke.
"You aren't feeling well." Damon's voice was monotone. He didn't seem concerned, more like observant. I couldn't help myself. I turned to him and glared.
"No shit. You fucking ripped my neck open and then kissed me. And that's after kidnapping me into your room and manipulating my dreams. You are freaking psycho." After I spoke I quivered, fearful of the inevitable wrath my words could ignite.
Instead, Damon's face remained indifferent.
"You've had your breakfast, I think I'll have mine." He took my wrist delicately into his hand. It took me a second to realize that he meant me. I tried to pull my wrist away, but his hand was like an iron shackle.
"No, Damon stop!" To my surprise, he did.
"Why? Elena, you are mine now. You know you love me. I see it in your eyes every time you look at me. You are attracted to this body, this face. You love that I am impulsive, strong, everything that Stefan isn't. And I'm another thing that Stefan isn't: hungry. And unlike him, I'm going to drink without ripping your head off. So you should be thankful." His eyes had regained their frightening cold blue electricity. They were so pale that they almost disappeared around his pupils in the morning sun.
"No. Damon you can't! I do not love you." He ignored me and started to lift my wrist to his mouth. I flailed, beating him with my free hand and feet as hard as I could. He didn't budge. I continued anyway, crying out of fear of the pain he was going to cause me. I was helpless. And I was stranded alone with an uncontrollable vampire.
Damon's lips touched my wrist, kissing it lightly. Then, his eyes darkened and his fangs protruded. I stilled, waiting. He looked up at me, beautiful even with the veins swimming beneath his eyes. My heart quickened. He pulled me onto his lap, holding me to him with his left arm, his right still holding my arm. I felt like a doll, a breakable, immobile doll. Then his fangs pierced my wrist and I screamed. I screamed, hoping someone would hear me. Then I was again falling into the black abyss of nothingness.
The last thing I felt were his lips on my ear. Soft words rushed from them before I passed out.
"When you wake up, we can have some real fun."
