Chapter two
The following Monday, I awoke in the morning to the smell of cologne. Alarmed, at the almost foreign smell, I got up quickly, and quickly tiptoed across the landing. I readied myself, ready for an attack, if need be. Who on earth would be in my house? And why?
I crouched low to the ground, my untied hair falling in curtains around my face. I located the source of the smell, just behind the island I was hiding behind. My predators instinct kept me strong willed, and with one swift movement I pounced.
Nothing… I was certain the intruder was standing right there…
With another sniff, I apprehended that the victim was of my kind. A breath flourished behind me. I took in oxygen, standing still, my back to the vampire. I bent my legs, and sprung into position, but before I could compose myself, I was flung into the air. For a split second, I panicked, felt fear.
But then I landed safely into a familiar set of arms. I jumped up and recoiled from the embrace.
"Damon," I seethed, my eyes glowing with hatred.
Damon stood, in his usual jet black attire, his hair neatly gelled, and a lofty smile on his face. He laughed.
"Don't be so… over-reactive," Damon said, pouring some champagne into a glass. I paused, choosing my words carefully.
"Over-reactive? Damon, I woke up to the smell of men's perfume, prepared and ready to fight an intruder, and instead, I find you hear, happily drinking my booze," I said.
Damon cocked his eyebrow, an expression that said to me; so?
Seething, I raced towards him; a bullet to the enemy, a siren to a call, and a vampire to the fresh scent of open blood… the images drove my mind wild. I threw my hand against the wall beside his head, and sank my long fingernails into his hair, twisting my body around him. And all of a sudden, I felt a magnetic pulse feed through our dead bodies. A heat breathed through my body, and Damon spun me around, so I had my back to the wall. He kissed my lips for the second time he had ever. The passionate embrace in which he held me felt like floating on the moon. My breath shook, and I took short rasped breaths, sucking in air, but not really feeling the need to. Damon dragged his pointed teeth across my jaws, and roughly bit into my neck. I gasped, and then moaned at the excitement of the scene. I could taste bitter blood on my tongue, the divine
He tumbled onto my lips one more time, softly stroking my tongue with his lips. But by then, the light had faded, the thrill ride over. Slowly, we both rested away from each other's bodies. He turned away from me. He was disgusted by me.
"Damon," I said.
"No, Elena," he said, turning his head slightly, so he could just see my face. He frowned.
What had I done? Was I bad? Was I not good enough for 'the perfect Salvatore'? It seemed so. I studied his movements as he leaned on my kitchen counter. His muscles flexed, his face set like stone, yet his blue eyes shone.
I sighed, taking it what had happened.
"Damon, this is no problem, honestly," I said. He stood up straight, and looked me in the eye, expecting me to carry on.
"We can just forget it ever happened," I explained, "Avoid the subject, and no one will know."
That night, after Damon had left, I wondered, who on earth was I protecting the kiss from?
It was mid October, and the leaves splashed out auburn colours across the pavement. I heard some footsteps behind me, and at once I spun around, only to smile at Damon.
"Hey," he said, smiling happily at me. I smiled too.
"Hey," I replied, walking to school in a comfortable silence.
I could feel Damon's eye's run around my body, though I showed no notice.
"Where'd you get that necklace?" he asked.
I looked down to find my ruby plated necklace steadily resting on my collar bone.
Bonnie Bennett- 6 years ago
Bonnie and I sat in a sleepless dream, listening to the soft music that played through the speakers. The room was decorated in wall hangings, and fluffy teddy bears, and a huge grandfather clock stood up against one wall. It was odd; I had been in Bonnie's room quite a few times, and I had never really noticed it as such. I had noticed the sleek walls, and the polished ivory dressing table, and the one-and-a-half bed that Bonnie had occupied for many years, yet I had never really noticed the old grandfather clock, castaway in the distance, there, but too average to really notice.
My thoughts turned to Bonnie at that stage. For some reason, the idea of a castaway, far in the distance reminded me of her. I scolded myself noiselessly, and shaft the thought aside. I was enjoying the silence too much to worry about how I evaluated the popularity of my friends.
"So, you're going ahead with it then?" Bonnie said. We looked at each other, and I thought of how betrayed she'd feel, I knew how much she hated them, though a weak smile was on her face.
She was often like that now. Quiet and solemn, respecting other's thoughts and rights. Ever since the trauma, she had never spoken up for herself as she had. She always used to be so fiery, so alight, and now… Now she was afraid of the outside world.
"Yeah," I smiled feebly back, saying the words, knowing what the words meant, but not quite feeling them in that context.
Then she rose from her seat, strode over to the little ivory dressing table, and pulled a jewel from one of the drawers.
She held her palm out to me and as the cold metal touched me, she clasped her hands together.
I looked deeply at her face, as she slowly raised her eyes towards mine.
"I'm dying Elena," Bonnie said. I small whimper escaped my lips. I knew this already.
"No, no you're not," I said undoubtedly, though I was probably trying to reassure myself.
"Yes I am," Bonnie said. She was ready for it, I just couldn't understand why.
"What about Jeremy?" I asked, my eyes watering, thinking of my little brother's disappointment.
"He's been good to me Elena," Bonnie said. For a short second there was silence.
"I don't want you to die Bonnie," I said, crying my eyes out all of a sudden. Bonnie took me into her arms. She was acting like an old woman. She shouldn't want to leave me. Bonnie and Caroline were my only friends, during the whole of my life.
"Elena, it has to be so. I'll be with grams. I'll be just fine. But YOU have to stay strong, for me…"
The memory faded, and I was acutely aware that Damon had picked up on my hesitation.
"It's private, okay?" I said, finalizing my statement with a swipe of my sleeve across my face.
Damon wouldn't carry on. He may have done in the past, but not now. He wanted to be on my good side, that's all I knew for sure. Ever since I had had a temper tantrum at my place, he was acting perfectly.
"Why did you change Damon?" I asked, still following the paths way.
"Change?" Damon asked, puzzled. I looked him in the eye. The dark brown opulent looked back at me. He seemed to realise how different he actually was.
"Stefan's not around anymore," he said, agreeing with my comment.
No, Stefan wasn't the reason for his behaviour before. He was sadistic after Katherine.
"Damon, it's absolutely nothing to do with your brother," I said, the typical tone in my voice.
"Elena. You, don't- know," Damon finalized. He looked around the park we were walking through.
"So, why did you kiss me again?" I asked, lightening the tone a little by gently pushing Damon off the path, now that I was as strong as him.
The bad memories flushed away with Damon's aura; for the moment.
Maybe I was wrong, but was Damon looking at me funny? It was a quarter to ten, and we had another five minutes of the lesson. His eyes gleamed furiously at me, so intent that I fiddled with my hair nervously. I tried to concentrate on my notes.
Glancing up, I saw on the whiteboard;
((PXP) X 3)((PXP))X4) =?
I thoughtcarefully, we did this in third year, I should know.
"Elena?" My teacher said, cockily. He probably thought I couldn't do it.
I replied back, "P squared minus 12?" I said, fully knowing I was correct.
He just narrowed his eyes and glanced at me occasionally for the duration of the lesson, as did Damon. I glanced upward again, and he had turned away. All of a sudden he was staring at me again. The fire in the pupils raced like broken glass cut through skin; sharp, domitable. He looked so lonely. Tears seemed to form in his eyes, or was it my imagination? My heart pulled. The single second that passed overwhelmed me. I understood what he felt like now. How he had felt the whole time; how had I missed it for so long? I had to think. Throwing my things into my bag, I slung the strap around my shoulder, before quickly exiting the room.
I was standing on the edge of the forest, alongside the school. Again, the soft breeze whipped my hair into my face, empowering the human in me. It was times like these that I longed to feel my heart beat in my own chest. Times like these when all I could possibly wish for was to feel the rapid flow of blood render across my body. Damon's scent crossed my path again; bittersweet, like the smell of cream and coco on a cold day. I found it strange how different yet how incomprehensibly similar they both tasted. I hadn't tried Damon, of course, only Stefan. Stefan. I sighed once more. Sometimes I missed him so much. Others I hated that he was ever a part of my life, fathomlessly believing that my life could have been so much better if I had never met him. But I realised that wasn't true. Stefan brought so many good things into my life, but his parting gift was hurt; to me, and somehow my family. Oh, the miserable lifestyle that had encountered from when he left...
Stefan Salvatore- 7 years ago
"Stop that Stefan!" I giggled. I was happily in love. Stefan's arms curved around my fragile frame, fitting precisely into shape with my body. He snaked his arm around my waist, my body moving in juts, up and down, not quite in times or patterns. I could feel his nose slide past my stomach, his mouth kissing my body.
His angelic laugh was muffled by my body.
I wrapped my hand in his hair once more, and then relaxed, as he rolled off me, resting on his back contently. I faced him, and studied the sleek planes of his face, the chiselled angles that bounced off of his jaw line; and the soft creases in the corner of his eyes. They were very faint and you wouldn't be able to spot them unless you knew him well. His face, to me, was perfect, his body was, perfect, his arms, legs, ankles, ears, hair, everything: perfect. I smiled sweetly at him.
He muttered at me; "You're staring,"
I laughed.
"It's creepy," he added.
"It's romantic," I said, giggling.
He promptly threw a pillow on his face.
"Hey!" I protested. I knew he was smiling. Ripping the pillow off of him, despite his great strength, I kissed him slowly; it was perfect.
"Elena!" Damon said. My brain didn't react. I was so confused, "Are you okay," he asked, raising his hands to cradle my face. I met his eyes for one moment, and then shook his hands away. I didn't want him, not anymore. I wanted Stefan. I wanted what we had before, our love, our bond- unbreakable, beautiful.
Stefan's beautiful green eyes shone out at me from my mind. Damon stared at me with puppy dog eyes, asking on his face.
But I couldn't agree to his question. I knew what it was. I wouldn't leave him in the dark, but he couldn't get what he wanted either, I couldn't love like that again. I just couldn't. It was my past; my past with one single person that changed and saved my life so many times.
"Damon. No," I said, shaking my head, "This isn't right and you know that." I closed my eyelids. No longer would I fear him if I disobeyed his wishes. I was as he was now, a vampire, a filthy bloodsucker. Was this what I wanted; definitely not. I turned out of consequence, though I wanted it for happiness; for to die whilst your lover lives on seemed so twisted and wrong, just as it was the other way around. I saw no other way; I would not let Stefan die because of me, never in a lifetime.
"Don't leave me Elena," Damon whispered softly to me.
"I have to," I said, wiping my eye with my sleeve.
He grabbed my neck with his arm, memories flooded back; the tomb, where he had used me to get to Stefan, before he had… loved me. The first time I allowed myself to believe it. Was it a curse? Were the Salvatore brothers destined for betrayal of the same looking woman, with the same, sweet Salvatore winning each time?
"There's something you need to know," Damon's pained voice reached. I frowned.
"Damon! Get off!" I screeched. He didn't respond, stuck in panic. He had given me no other choice; I flung him into the trees. I needed Stefan, I needed Stefan…
"That's why I came back- I needed you to know!"Damon's voice ricocheted around the forest's walls, as I turned my back on him. "Don't you want to know Elena?" Damon said.
"I already know Damon," I said to him.
His face broke. Shock excelled in him. So he didn't realise I knew.
He tipped himself around, much like a drunken man after a Saturday night.
I shook my head and ran.