CHAPTER 3
"So…Stefan…" Truth be told, she felt more awkward than anything else. She'd never seen him around town before and considering they were next to the cemetery? Well it wasn't exactly on her list of places to meet someone. "Are you new to Mystic Falls?"
"Well, not really, but kind of." Stefan laughed, though Elena's brows furrowed. She just got a bad vibe from him. "I have family here" he went on to explain, which made a lot more sense to her. Maybe she was just having a bit of an off day. "I came back to visit and decided to stay."
The two began walking in the direction that Damon had been watching from just a moment ago, making small talk with one another. Damon had contemplated going his own way, but he couldn't help but feel irritated seeing the two of them together. Rather than running off, he began to jog in their direction as if it had been his intention the entire time.
When Elena saw the raven jogging towards them, her eyes widened. It seemed no matter what she did, she just couldn't avoid him. It was a small town after all. She really shouldn't have been so surprised. This time, she was going to be the one jumping to conclusions and making assumptions. She figured that the only reason he was slowing down was because of her – not because of the stranger beside her.
"Well hello Elena." He breathed, placing his hands on his hips. She was expecting to see that signature smirk fall on his lips, but his expression turned to stone as his gaze shifted to his brother. "Stefan." The tension between the two of them was nuclear almost and Elena caught on immediately.
"You two know each other?" Elena asked, biting her lower lip. The answer was so obvious that she felt ridiculous for even asking.
"Damon's my brother. How do you two know each other?" Stefan asked condescendingly. The bitterness in each of their tones when it came to talking to one another was toxic and Elena just wanted to go home at that point. Knowing Damon would probably say something about the two of them made her quickly feel the need to answer before him.
"We work together." She said. "At the hospital." Her look was pointed and for a brief second, she could tell Damon was deflated. Stefan wasn't blind to this, noticing the way his brother seemed disappointed by the girls answer. If he knew anything about his brother, it was that Damon always got what he wanted. One way or another. In this case, it didn't seem like it was going so well for him. It gave him an idea.
"Oh, I see." He drawled, his lips twitching upwards.
To Elena, the conversation had become extremely awkward, very quickly. She had no idea what to say and whatever was between the two brothers was thickening.
"So look, I'm gonna go. I have this thing that – yeah." She looked in the other direction, pointing back with her thumb. While she could have made a much better excuse, she doubted either would have believed it anyways. "It was nice to meet you, Stefan." Despite offering a smile, she felt queasy over the whole encounter. "Damon." She said his name with such dismissal that it made Stefan smile even more. Damon gritted his teeth, letting out a small sigh. Winning her over was going to be a lot harder than he thought. What he didn't realize was that he already had. As Elena walked away, Damon turned to Stefan and narrowed his eyes.
"I know what you're thinking and I strongly advise that you back off." Damon warned.
"What? I'm not thinking anything Damon." He laughed. Stefan was good when it came to playing the victim. Ignorant as well. "I mean, there isn't something going on between the two of you is there?" He asked, a small smile toying on his lips as he folded his arms over his chest. "Because if there is, I'll back off but if not then I don't see what the problem would be."
Damon wanted so badly to tell them that there was, but when it struck him that it may jeopardize theirs jobs, he closed his mouth. He didn't put it past his brother to tell just the right people. He breathed in through his nose deeply as his lips tightened into a firm line. He could only shake his head, knowing that any more or any less would be too much. The way he was acting though was already a dead giveaway to Stefan.
The two brothers did not have the best relationship with one another. It had been fractured many years ago by their father. Stefan had always been the golden boy and as far as Damon was concerned, he had done nothing with his life to earn such a title. Damon always tried to gain his father's approval and impress him, but it seemed no matter what it was always Stefan. Even when Damon had graduated college and told his father he was planning on going to med school, he would put him down, not believing he would be successful. In his eyes, he loved Stefan more. He was his father's pride and joy. It was always Stefan, even in the end when Stefan had only gone to college for two years to quit and work on a novel, which had yet to surface. Before Damon could try to prove himself, his father tragically died due to a heart attack.
Damon knew what Stefan was. Who he had been for years on end now. He was a liar. He knew he didn't want to write. It was all a façade to come off as the fantastic, genuine guy. It was disgusting to watch and see how many women actually fell for it and he could only hope that Elena wasn't going to be another one of those girls. He had only occasionally seen Stefan write in a journal throughout the years. Writing wasn't what he was into, it was fighting. He had constantly gone out at night to watch MMA fights and sometimes even to get in on them. It seemed over the years, the only person who had seen the real Stefan was Damon. No one believed him, not even his own father. How could he even begin to think that warning Elena would have been a good idea? She'd probably shoot him down in the same way that she had been doing ever since she found out they were working together.
"Pretty girl, it's too bad really." Stefan said, pulling Damon from his thoughts and making him want to cringe at just how creepy he came off. There was something odd about his brother, he never knew what, but he knew that he couldn't trust him. "Well anyways brother, I'll see you at home. I have some things I need to do." He patted Damon's shoulder and brushed past him, but not without sending him a challenging glare.
It was then that Damon realized that his fists were clenched together by his sides, making his fingers numb. The idea that he could possibly pursue Elena was maddening, feeling sick from the image alone. He took a breath, shaking the numbness out and looked around. He knew he couldn't allow his brother to win this time. Elena was the first girl he had felt anything for in a long time and certainly never to his extent. He wasn't sure what these feelings meant, but he knew they were definitely something that he was going to act upon.
Later that night, Damon was on the night shift at the hospital. He had yet to come across Elena, but he knew that she was bound to be on the same shift as the night before. Finally, when he was taking a break he made his way to the coffee room and spotted her. She was sitting with Dr. Fell, the two locked in a conversation over what sounded like Dr. Fell's research project. He needed to talk to her, alone. To make it look like it was work related he glanced down at his clipboard, acting as if he were reading over an important patient file. Taking a pen out from behind his ear, he used it to scratch his head as he strolled in and let out a sigh. When he 'realized' there were people in there, he looked up and grinned.
"Oh there you are." He quipped, acting as though he were surprised to see them. "I'm so sorry to interrupt Dr. Fell. Dr. Gilbert, may I speak with you? I've found something regarding one of your patients and I think it may deem helpful."
Though Elena saw right through him, she knew that refusing to speak with him would only make her look suspicious. "Of course" She agreed, pushing out from her chair. "I'll be back, Meredith" she said before following Damon out into the hallway.
"What is this about, Salvatore?" She walked beside him, speaking in a hurried and hushed tone. Considering the hallway was rather crowded, Damon decided to keep playing alone and made his way down the hall.
"It's about a diagnosis you made on one of your patients. I think I may have a solution that could better help with their recovery." He explained. If people were listening in, they'd have no idea that he had other intentions.
They continued to walk until they were near some of the testing labs. It was less crowded, giving Damon an open to make his move. Gently grabbing her forearm, he pulled her into an empty lab that looked as though it hadn't been used in ages.
"What the hell are you doing? Are you trying to get us fired?" She asked, a fury in her voice as she tugged her arm away from him. "I mean really; how stupid can you be? Stepping into the work room and calling me out like that? Are you trying to look suspicious, Damon? You have one minute to tell me what you really want or I swear -"
"Are you done yet?" Damon leaned against the door and sighed, finally having to cut her off. He saw her eyes widen and her body jump a little as if she were shocked.
"No, I'm not Damon. This is…" Damon had had enough and Elena wasn't fooling anything. It was clear that she wasn't going to stop talking so Damon advanced towards her, this time cutting her off by capturing her lips.
He kissed her hard and the fact that she hadn't pulled away or slapped him by that point was a relief. He wasn't sure whether to be surprised or grateful at this point, groaning as she leaned into him. She was kissing him back and that gave him all the proof that he needed. The moment he pushed her back into the wall was the moment that her arms fell around his neck and his world came together. Biting her lip elicited a moan from her, pressing his body against her and rolling his hips. He was desperate to continue what had nearly happened the other night, his hands moving to grip her thighs. Hearing her say his name against his lips gave him all the encouragement that he needed, running his tongue down to her collarbone and placing hungry kisses upon it.
Her fingers had roped into the hair at the nape of his neck, causing his upper lip to snarl. It had been awhile, if ever, that a woman had evoked such pleasure from him. Grasping her hands, he placed them over her head and held her wrists in place. His lips found hers again and he smiled when he realized that that's what she was doing as well. His lips molded against hers that it was almost as if this was too good to be true. Unfortunately, he was right. After a few more moments, she managed to break free for some air and began to shake her head.
"Damon, stop." She was breathless his grip loosening on her wrists. They fell to his shoulders, his own hands moving to her slender waist. "We can't do this" she added, biting her puffy bottom lip.
"Why not?" He groaned, the tip of his nose brushing against the dip of her neck.
"Because Damon, we work together. We get caught, we get fired. This needs to end and it needs to end now. You know this…" It wasn't what either of them wanted to hear, but it was the truth.
"I know. I just –" Damon sighed, letting go of her and pushing his fingers through his mess of hair. "I want you, okay? I'd like to get to know you better and I'd like to see where this could possibly go."
"I know, but sometimes we can't always get what we want." She looked at him and he could see the regret in her eyes. They longed for one another, but Elena was too fearful of losing the only thing that kept her feet firmly on the ground. "This thing between us…it's over for good Damon. It has to be. I just…I don't expect you to understand. This job is what keeps me home. I can't lose that." She didn't look at him as she said this. For once, she hadn't come off as cruel. She felt as if she were going to cry, but she managed to stay strong enough to walk past him and out of the room. Damon had been much too baffled to chase after her, leaving them both to deal with their feelings on their own.
When Elena got back to the workroom, Meredith was still there. She walked over to her and took a seat across from her. "Sorry about that."
"No, it's fine. Did you and Dr. Salvatore get everything worked out?" She asked curiously, causing Elena to look up quickly. Her lips were swollen and a few hairs seemed to be out of place.
"Oh…yeah. Yeah, everything has been worked out with the patient." Her mind was still cloudy from what had just happened and she quickly changed the subject. "So are you going to the Founder's Ball tomorrow?"
"I wish." She responded. "My shift overlays with it but if I could I would. What about you?" She took a sip of her coffee and snacked on some chips from the vending machine. Meredith wanted to take a jab and suggest she go with Damon, but something told her that Elena was struggling enough already and it was best not to tease her.
"Yeah, I'm going. It will be nice to see the Lockwood's." Elena said calmly. She knew that the Salvatore's were also founding families and wondered if she would be seeing Damon there. She hoped that he would be working because it was getting hard for Elena to resist him. Then her mind drifted to Stefan. She didn't like him like that but she wondered why there seemed to be so much tension between the two brothers. Damon had been so cold towards him and Elena couldn't help but notice the slightest bit of arrogance that Stefan had towards Damon.
Elena worked through her shift that night and when she got home she crashed. She had needed to talk to Jenna, but Elena's body and mind were both so exhausted she didn't even make it to her bed. Instead, she fell asleep on the couch. It was only the next morning she woke up to the sound of the doorbell.
She groggily got up and smoothed out her hair before opening the door. The last person she expected to see when she opened the door was Stefan.
"Um…hey Stefan." She furrowed her brows in confusion. "How did you know where I lived?" It was yet another thing to add to the creep factor.
Stefan smiled at her as if he were proud of himself for some reason. "One of the Lockwood's gave it to me." He explained, but when he realized that she didn't seem impressed, he quickly backtracked. "I'm sorry. This probably seems like I'm some crazy person, but I was wondering if I could escort you to the Founder's party today?" He asked, a blank expression on Elena's face. She wondered if he genuinely liked her or if he were trying to mess with Damon in some way.
"Oh actually I…" She started. She wasn't going to go out with Stefan, not when she felt something for Damon. Even if he wasn't his brother, she wouldn't have. It was wrong and she wasn't comfortable with it.
"Unless of course you're seeing someone?"
Thank you for reading Chapter 3. I'd like to reiterate that Stelena will not be a thing in this, though Stefan may be thinking so. Elena is very adamant on her feelings for Damon, but there are multiple reasons as to why Stefan is pursuing her. You'll find all this out as the story unfolds, but as I mentioned previously, this is going to be a very dark fic. Not so dark with Stefan, but there are other characters that have yet to be introduced that will not only bring Damon and Elena closer but - you'll see ;)
Review time! I'd love to see more reviews on this story as many followers as it has gained. A few questions to think about and possibly tell me about in the box below are:
Do you think that Elena will agree to go with Stefan? Or will she feel more forced than anything?
How do you think Damon is going to handle seeing them together if it were to happen?
What secrets do you think Stefan's hiding? And how is Jeremy doing? Do you think the next time Elena sees him he'll be back on drugs? Old habits die hard afterall.
